News (engl.)

Germany play their final Nations League group game on Tuesday night (20:45 CET) against Hungary in Budapest. They have already won the group and booked a quarter-final place ahead of their final game of 2024.

Julian Nagelsmann on...

...the state of play ahead of the Hungary game: The current table doesn’t provide us with any extrinsic motivation. We have won the group and Hungary aren’t playing for anything either. However, our motivation will be to try to improve ourselves as a team. There aren’t that many games to come before the World Cup, so we can’t waste any time. That doesn’t mean that everything has to be perfect, but we want to keep getting better.

...the opponents: Hungary are quite flexible on the ball and with how they build up the play. Our two previous games against them this year were really different. They took a lot of risks in the last match, whereas they sat back a lot more and waited for chances from counter-attacks in the EUROs match. They definitely won’t want to concede as many goals as in our last meeting (5-0 Germany win in Düsseldorf), so I expect them to look to sit back more and remain compact, as they were against the Netherlands. That’s what I’m preparing my team for.

...the importance of the match: Wins are always important for our confidence, but I don’t think we’ll simply fall apart if we don’t beat them. I think every player understands that the result isn’t the most important thing, but rather how we play. We don’t have much time and have to make use of the time we do have together. We obviously want to play well and put on a show for the travelling fans and those watching at home on TV. Ultimately though, it’s about continuing on the path we’ve chosen.

...potential changes to the XI: We will make our decisions tomorrow morning. As of today, there will be several changes. We want to take the clubs into consideration a bit. We could even make as many as nine or 10 changes, but maybe only four or so. We will have to see how the players are feeling and we can only know for sure after the last training session.

...the team’s development this year: I think we’ve developed in all regards. For the next international break, we want to incorporate a second or third way of building up the play to allow us to be more flexible going into the World Cup. Our most impressive thing so far has been our Gegenpressing, in particular against Bosnia and Herzegovina. It wears down the opposition and results in lots of goals for us.

...Leroy Sané’s performance against Bosnia and Herzegovina: It was a similar story to at FC Bayern. He was a real threat after coming off the bench. He’s a world-class player but needs consistency. We all know that he possesses so many great attributes. He just needs to show that every day out on the pitch. He’s looking good and I expect him to take advantage of the increase in game time tomorrow.

...the goalkeepers: Their performances for their clubs are more important because they allow them to show their consistency. Having said that, all the outfield players also know that playing well for the club side is the basis for being called up and getting minutes for Germany. I’ve only got a limited number of training sessions, but it obviously helps if you play well for us here, which Oli did against Bosnia and Herzegovina. He had one shot to save and he did that. It’s always good if a goalkeeper is there when you need them. Alex will also play well against Hungary, so my decision won’t get any easier. I’ve got a lot of things to take into consideration, it’s not a decision where I should just go with my gut feeling.

...the long break before the next international fixtures: We will try to keep developing by having individual video sessions with the players. We will remain in regular contact with the clubs, though I won’t do that every week. We can’t know what their respective coaches are demanding from them and don’t want to disrupt that too much. We need their club coaches to help develop them too – the communication with them is very good.

Nico Schlotterbeck on...

...the atmosphere in Budapest: We’re preparing ourselves to face a good team. I think they will sit deep. The stadium will be really loud and their fans will constantly be pushing them on. Hungary want to win at home, we want to win as well – I think it’ll be a good game.

...the team’s trip to Europapark: It was a nice day out. We went on a few rides there. I went there a few times back when I was playing for Freiburg. All the lads had fun and enjoyed it.