The Germany national team want to win their third World Cup qualifier in a row tonight at 20.45 against Northern Ireland. Assistant head coach Marcus Sorg spoke to DFB.de before the match about Northern Ireland’s strengths and what Germany are aiming to achieve in their third World Cup qualifying fixture.
DFB.de: How does the coaching staff feel after an impressive 3-0 victory?
Marcus Sorg: As a coach, you always have to think about how we can improve. But you can also always say when we have done something well. That was the case on Saturday against Czech Republic. The team did the things we told them to do very, very well indeed.
DFB.de: Is there the danger of the team losing a bit of momentum after such an impressive performance in Hamburg?
Sorg: It’s the second fixture of this international break, but it’s the third match of our World Cup qualification campaign. Our goal is to dominate our group. That means we have to give it our all in every match. I have absolutely no concerns about the team. I know they will go into the match just as determined as they did on Saturday.
DFB.de: And how are the players doing fitness-wise?
Sorg: A few players have had some aches and pains but currently they are all fit to start and we, as coaches, have the full squad to pick from.
DFB.de: Northern Ireland drew 0-0 in Prague but started their qualification campaign with a 4-0 win over San Marino. What do you think of tonight’s opponent?
Sorg: We are facing a very physical opponent. I think they will have analysed our match against Czech Republic very carefully. They won’t attack us a lot but they will sit very defensively. They will use their physicality to defend their own goal. They can be dangerous from set-pieces and when they play long balls. We have to be aware of this. They are very proud to represent their country. No matter what the score is, they will do everything they can to get the best possible result. We experienced this when we played them in the Euros when their players managed to get in the way of every shot. We’re expecting them to do the same this evening.
DFB.de: The match scheduled to take place last November in Hannover against the Netherlands was cancelled at short notice because of security concerns. Do the players still think about this?
Sorg: It has never been a topic of discussion, not even amongst the players.
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The Germany national team want to win their third World Cup qualifier in a row tonight at 20.45 against Northern Ireland. Assistant head coach Marcus Sorg spoke to DFB.de before the match about Northern Ireland’s strengths and what Germany are aiming to achieve in their third World Cup qualifying fixture.
DFB.de: How does the coaching staff feel after an impressive 3-0 victory?
Marcus Sorg: As a coach, you always have to think about how we can improve. But you can also always say when we have done something well. That was the case on Saturday against Czech Republic. The team did the things we told them to do very, very well indeed.
DFB.de: Is there the danger of the team losing a bit of momentum after such an impressive performance in Hamburg?
Sorg: It’s the second fixture of this international break, but it’s the third match of our World Cup qualification campaign. Our goal is to dominate our group. That means we have to give it our all in every match. I have absolutely no concerns about the team. I know they will go into the match just as determined as they did on Saturday.
DFB.de: And how are the players doing fitness-wise?
Sorg: A few players have had some aches and pains but currently they are all fit to start and we, as coaches, have the full squad to pick from.
DFB.de: Northern Ireland drew 0-0 in Prague but started their qualification campaign with a 4-0 win over San Marino. What do you think of tonight’s opponent?
Sorg: We are facing a very physical opponent. I think they will have analysed our match against Czech Republic very carefully. They won’t attack us a lot but they will sit very defensively. They will use their physicality to defend their own goal. They can be dangerous from set-pieces and when they play long balls. We have to be aware of this. They are very proud to represent their country. No matter what the score is, they will do everything they can to get the best possible result. We experienced this when we played them in the Euros when their players managed to get in the way of every shot. We’re expecting them to do the same this evening.
DFB.de: The match scheduled to take place last November in Hannover against the Netherlands was cancelled at short notice because of security concerns. Do the players still think about this?
Sorg: It has never been a topic of discussion, not even amongst the players.
