The EURO 2024 group stage is over, and nothing less than perfection will do from here on in – a single mistake could mean an early exit from the tournament. Ahead of Germany’s first knockout match against Denmark on Saturday evening (21:00 CEST), head coach Julian Nagelsmann and midfielder Robert Andrich spoke about their belief in the squad, their upcoming opponents and the team’s preparations for the game.
Julian Nagelsmann on…
… who will start up front: I haven’t been following the discussions. I don’t read anything; I have enough on my plate as it is. We have the necessary expertise to come up with the right solution. We’ll decide tomorrow who plays, not in advance.
… Antonio Rüdiger: He’s very important for us. The medical department have done everything they can for him during the week. As things stand, he’ll be fit unless something extraordinary happens.
… learning throughout the tournament: The group stage was a very interesting one for us. We started with a game that was easier than we’d expected, and then had a more complicated match against Hungary and a difficult one against Switzerland. We had to deal with some tricky situations. But it’s important for a team to figure out how to deal with adversity and those sorts of scenarios.
… the diversity of the expanded EUROs: It’s really important for smaller footballing nations to be able to take part in major tournaments. Georgia are a good example – they’re doing extremely well and improving from game to game.
… comparisons with 2006: The summer of 2006 is a very fond memory for many of us, where the focus wasn’t so much on results, but on the scenes from the fan zones and the spectators. This European Championship feels similar, and we’re not finished yet. We want to create new images, videos and emotion.
… the pressure of knockout ties: I’m fairly relaxed – we’ve worked well and prepared ourselves perfectly. We are extremely well-prepared and we’ve done everything we can. I have great confidence in the team and know what they can do. That being said, it’s a knockout game, and you never know what might happen.
Robert Andrich on…
… the atmosphere in Dortmund: I’m looking forward to the crowd. It will be a fun game with an unbelievable atmosphere. I’m well up for it and I think the rest of the team is too.
… the eight-year wait for a quarter-final: It’s not a case of trying to break our duck. We’re happy to have won the group, we’re in the round of 16 and we don’t want the journey to end just yet. We still have a lot to do.
… the past week: We were just able to switch off for a bit. Our families and kids were around, which was really nice, it does something to you. And then obviously we prepared as normal.
… Denmark’s strong defence: We’ve had a look at the Danes and we know they play with a back five with two holding midfielders. We’re looking to be fluid and get ourselves into dangerous areas.
… self-confidence: You can tell there’s a certain level of confidence within the team after getting seven points from our group games. We’re hoping that will also have an effect on our opponents. We want to keep our hunger going and get ourselves through to the next round.
created by mmc/dt
The EURO 2024 group stage is over, and nothing less than perfection will do from here on in – a single mistake could mean an early exit from the tournament. Ahead of Germany’s first knockout match against Denmark on Saturday evening (21:00 CEST), head coach Julian Nagelsmann and midfielder Robert Andrich spoke about their belief in the squad, their upcoming opponents and the team’s preparations for the game.
Julian Nagelsmann on…
… who will start up front: I haven’t been following the discussions. I don’t read anything; I have enough on my plate as it is. We have the necessary expertise to come up with the right solution. We’ll decide tomorrow who plays, not in advance.
… Antonio Rüdiger: He’s very important for us. The medical department have done everything they can for him during the week. As things stand, he’ll be fit unless something extraordinary happens.
… learning throughout the tournament: The group stage was a very interesting one for us. We started with a game that was easier than we’d expected, and then had a more complicated match against Hungary and a difficult one against Switzerland. We had to deal with some tricky situations. But it’s important for a team to figure out how to deal with adversity and those sorts of scenarios.
… the diversity of the expanded EUROs: It’s really important for smaller footballing nations to be able to take part in major tournaments. Georgia are a good example – they’re doing extremely well and improving from game to game.
… comparisons with 2006: The summer of 2006 is a very fond memory for many of us, where the focus wasn’t so much on results, but on the scenes from the fan zones and the spectators. This European Championship feels similar, and we’re not finished yet. We want to create new images, videos and emotion.
… the pressure of knockout ties: I’m fairly relaxed – we’ve worked well and prepared ourselves perfectly. We are extremely well-prepared and we’ve done everything we can. I have great confidence in the team and know what they can do. That being said, it’s a knockout game, and you never know what might happen.
Robert Andrich on…
… the atmosphere in Dortmund: I’m looking forward to the crowd. It will be a fun game with an unbelievable atmosphere. I’m well up for it and I think the rest of the team is too.
… the eight-year wait for a quarter-final: It’s not a case of trying to break our duck. We’re happy to have won the group, we’re in the round of 16 and we don’t want the journey to end just yet. We still have a lot to do.
… the past week: We were just able to switch off for a bit. Our families and kids were around, which was really nice, it does something to you. And then obviously we prepared as normal.
… Denmark’s strong defence: We’ve had a look at the Danes and we know they play with a back five with two holding midfielders. We’re looking to be fluid and get ourselves into dangerous areas.
… self-confidence: You can tell there’s a certain level of confidence within the team after getting seven points from our group games. We’re hoping that will also have an effect on our opponents. We want to keep our hunger going and get ourselves through to the next round.
