Crunch time has arrived in France as the final round of group games is upon us. The World Champions only need a draw from their final group encounter with Northern Ireland on Tuesday (kick-off: 18:00 CEST) to book a spot in the knockout stages.
Die Mannschaft are in a confident mood ahead of the game and currently find themselves on four points following victory over Ukraine and a draw with Poland. The squad was given the day off on Saturday, but returned to training action in Évian on Sunday morning. Following the Thomas Müller and Mario Götze, and sporting director Oliver Bierhoff spoke with DFB.de about the upcoming clash.
Thomas Müller on...
...his performances so far: I would've liked to have a few more opportunities, but you can't simply wish for these things to happen. I have to stay hungry and go to my limits in order to be one step quicker than the opponent. I have to keep giving it my best and see what happens. Overall we've not been as successful in attack. Attackers are expected to score but that hasn’t happened so far, although you wish more objectivity would be applied from outsiders.
...opponents Northern Ireland: I want to score but as long as we play well and win I’ll be happy. They will defend deeply and make life tough for us. When eleven players with a good mentality sit deep it isn’t a walk in the park for us. I don't expect a high-scoring victory. I wish it would happen, but we have to stay realistic.
...the situation in the group standings: It's never been the case that a team simply walks through the opposition in their group. Consequently we expect a good performance from ourselves. We want to win the game, since we are the favourites against Northern Ireland. But we can't guarantee it.
b>...potentially facing Portugal in the round of 16: There are so many possibilities in regard to the round of 16. Ronaldo came close to scoring against Austria, but he had a lot of other momenta in the game where he showed commitment. He's not being showered with compliments currently, but as a player you shouldn't overestimate these things.
Mario Götze on...
...facing criticism after the Poland game: That's football. Sometimes you're the hero and other times you're the villain. It's part of the game and criticism is part of this job. Everyone knows how to handle and live with it. We are professionals and now look forward to our next game. We have high ambitions and want to win our group.
...their third group game: We will try to stay flexible during the game. Our system always depends on the opposition. We expect a defensive minded Northern Ireland side, who will not be offering us any free space. We are optimistic that we can find solutions and create space for ourselves. We look forward to the game, are confident and we've put ourselves in a good position going into this final game.
Oliver Bierhoff on...
...the personnel decisions: It's not the first time that the national team is central topic and discussed from the outside. I think it's a good thing, but we are not allowing it to affect us. We are able to assess the situation quite well and we know what areas we still need to work on and with what things we are already satisfied - completely regardless of the outside perception. It's important to have self-critical awareness, but also to know what you're working for. The World Cup title obviously gives security and assurance.
...opponents Northern Ireland: These assumed smaller nations at the European Championships are also able to cause a team a lot of problems. We are not a side who goes out all-attack against defensive minded teams. We have to use our high technical quality, to create space, no matter how small they are. We have to stay patient. We have to allow our team to control the game and wait for the right chance to arrive.
...his sensational hat-trick against Northern Ireland in 1997: I have good memories from this game. I also appreciated the fact that the Northern Ireland players handed me the ball after the match. I don't know if there would still be a place for me in modern day football. Today teams are more looking for a striker who can play with the ball, but on the other hand goals are what counts in the end. I would still like to be playing, but I doubt that Joachim Löw would select me.
...DFB cook Holger Stromberg: Nutrition has become a very important factor, also in terms of regeneration. A good variety is also decisive at long tournaments like this. We also serve players individually towards their own wishes.
created by mmc/fr
Crunch time has arrived in France as the final round of group games is upon us. The World Champions only need a draw from their final group encounter with Northern Ireland on Tuesday (kick-off: 18:00 CEST) to book a spot in the knockout stages.
Die Mannschaft are in a confident mood ahead of the game and currently find themselves on four points following victory over Ukraine and a draw with Poland. The squad was given the day off on Saturday, but returned to training action in Évian on Sunday morning. Following the Thomas Müller and Mario Götze, and sporting director Oliver Bierhoff spoke with DFB.de about the upcoming clash.
Thomas Müller on...
...his performances so far: I would've liked to have a few more opportunities, but you can't simply wish for these things to happen. I have to stay hungry and go to my limits in order to be one step quicker than the opponent. I have to keep giving it my best and see what happens. Overall we've not been as successful in attack. Attackers are expected to score but that hasn’t happened so far, although you wish more objectivity would be applied from outsiders.
...opponents Northern Ireland: I want to score but as long as we play well and win I’ll be happy. They will defend deeply and make life tough for us. When eleven players with a good mentality sit deep it isn’t a walk in the park for us. I don't expect a high-scoring victory. I wish it would happen, but we have to stay realistic.
...the situation in the group standings: It's never been the case that a team simply walks through the opposition in their group. Consequently we expect a good performance from ourselves. We want to win the game, since we are the favourites against Northern Ireland. But we can't guarantee it.
b>...potentially facing Portugal in the round of 16: There are so many possibilities in regard to the round of 16. Ronaldo came close to scoring against Austria, but he had a lot of other momenta in the game where he showed commitment. He's not being showered with compliments currently, but as a player you shouldn't overestimate these things.
Mario Götze on...
...facing criticism after the Poland game: That's football. Sometimes you're the hero and other times you're the villain. It's part of the game and criticism is part of this job. Everyone knows how to handle and live with it. We are professionals and now look forward to our next game. We have high ambitions and want to win our group.
...their third group game: We will try to stay flexible during the game. Our system always depends on the opposition. We expect a defensive minded Northern Ireland side, who will not be offering us any free space. We are optimistic that we can find solutions and create space for ourselves. We look forward to the game, are confident and we've put ourselves in a good position going into this final game.
Oliver Bierhoff on...
...the personnel decisions: It's not the first time that the national team is central topic and discussed from the outside. I think it's a good thing, but we are not allowing it to affect us. We are able to assess the situation quite well and we know what areas we still need to work on and with what things we are already satisfied - completely regardless of the outside perception. It's important to have self-critical awareness, but also to know what you're working for. The World Cup title obviously gives security and assurance.
...opponents Northern Ireland: These assumed smaller nations at the European Championships are also able to cause a team a lot of problems. We are not a side who goes out all-attack against defensive minded teams. We have to use our high technical quality, to create space, no matter how small they are. We have to stay patient. We have to allow our team to control the game and wait for the right chance to arrive.
...his sensational hat-trick against Northern Ireland in 1997: I have good memories from this game. I also appreciated the fact that the Northern Ireland players handed me the ball after the match. I don't know if there would still be a place for me in modern day football. Today teams are more looking for a striker who can play with the ball, but on the other hand goals are what counts in the end. I would still like to be playing, but I doubt that Joachim Löw would select me.
...DFB cook Holger Stromberg: Nutrition has become a very important factor, also in terms of regeneration. A good variety is also decisive at long tournaments like this. We also serve players individually towards their own wishes.
