Visibly tired, the Germany U19 team retired to their team hotel in Katerini, Greece at 2:30am local time. They’d had a long day. "A disappointing day," said Thilo Kehrer.
In front of the on-looking sporting director Hansi Flick, U21 coach Horst Hrubesch, U18 coach Guido Schönweitz and Frank Engel, head of sporting development, the Germany U19s got off to a poor start at the this summer’s European Championship. "We threw the game away," added Kehrer.
The Schalke player was one of the most notable players on show as the U19s were defeated 3-0 by Spain in their opening group game. "We didn’t get into the game at the start and we didn’t win enough challenges," was his analysis. His manager also criticised the lack of aggression. "It was clear that the players haven’t seen much competitive football recently," said Sorg. "It took us a while to properly arrive at the tournament."
The Germany team couldn’t find any way of posing a threat to the Spanish goal during the first half. They lacked a hold in the game. Despite this, the mood was confident at half time, and the team came out and performed better in the second half. "We created two or three good chances and we had the feeling that the boys could get back into the game," said the boss. Then the Spanish doubled their lead from the spot after a questionable penalty decision. "At 2-0 down it’s obviously twice as difficult," lamented Kehrer.
Despite the defeat, Sorg maintained that his team had the right attitude. "We had the right mentality – the boys gave their best and didn’t let their heads drop."
Straight after the game, the manager was quick to look forward and after a speech to the whole squad, declared himself confident that Germany will put in a better performance against the Netherlands on Friday. The team displayed a similar defiant attitude as they turned up for day of recovery training today. All eyes are looking forward. Onto the next game.
Visibly tired, the Germany U19 team retired to their team hotel in Katerini, Greece at 2:30am local time. They’d had a long day. "A disappointing day," said Thilo Kehrer.
In front of the on-looking sporting director Hansi Flick, U21 coach Horst Hrubesch, U18 coach Guido Schönweitz and Frank Engel, head of sporting development, the Germany U19s got off to a poor start at the this summer’s European Championship. "We threw the game away," added Kehrer.
The Schalke player was one of the most notable players on show as the U19s were defeated 3-0 by Spain in their opening group game. "We didn’t get into the game at the start and we didn’t win enough challenges," was his analysis. His manager also criticised the lack of aggression. "It was clear that the players haven’t seen much competitive football recently," said Sorg. "It took us a while to properly arrive at the tournament."
The Germany team couldn’t find any way of posing a threat to the Spanish goal during the first half. They lacked a hold in the game. Despite this, the mood was confident at half time, and the team came out and performed better in the second half. "We created two or three good chances and we had the feeling that the boys could get back into the game," said the boss. Then the Spanish doubled their lead from the spot after a questionable penalty decision. "At 2-0 down it’s obviously twice as difficult," lamented Kehrer.
Despite the defeat, Sorg maintained that his team had the right attitude. "We had the right mentality – the boys gave their best and didn’t let their heads drop."
Straight after the game, the manager was quick to look forward and after a speech to the whole squad, declared himself confident that Germany will put in a better performance against the Netherlands on Friday. The team displayed a similar defiant attitude as they turned up for day of recovery training today. All eyes are looking forward. Onto the next game.
