World Champions Germany failed to win their European qualifier against Ireland on Tuesday night, their second setback in the space of three days. Toni Kroos’ strike was cancelled out in added time in a 1-1 draw. Germany have four points on the board in Group D, leaving them in fourth place behind Poland (7), Ireland (7) and Scotland (also 4). DFB.de gathered the match reaction in Gelsenkirchen.
Manager Joachim Löw: “We’re all disappointed. We were too naïve in the final minutes. We were only playing long passes forward instead of holding on to the ball. It was a tough game in general; we had to be patient. We then took one of our chances and should have calmly seen the result over the line. We were lacking width and depth to our game in the first half. That made it easy for Ireland to defend against us. We did better in the second 45 and applied more pressure, but we weren’t rewarded with a second goal. We will win against Gibraltar and pool our strengths. Then we’re back in it next year.”
DFB president Wolfgang Niersbach: “It’s very frustrating. We should have seen the 1-0 over the line and then we could have dusted ourselves off with three points in the bag. But that’s just frustrating.”
Toni Kroos: “We’re incredibly disappointed. That was needless as we played well for long periods. But once we went in front we started doing everything differently. There’s no explaining it. But for long spells, we showed what we’re capable of.”
Mario Götze: “It’s unbelievably frustrating. It was pretty much a sure thing. We have the ability and the possibility to win the game. It’s just so frustrating that it ended like that.”
Antonio Rüdiger: “It’s downright disappointing for us. We were clearly the better team in both games and we had chances to win both of them.”
John O'Shea (Ireland goalscorer): “Germany had far more goalscoring opportunities. We were hoping for a chance on the counter in the final ten minutes. Not even the best goalkeeper in the world could keep my shot out. That was a great moment.”