The Germany national team won their fourth qualifying game on their way to EURO 2016 in France yesterday evening. The reigning World Champions ran out 4-0 winners over UEFA new boys Gibraltar.
Joachim Löw was far from satisfied at the press conference at Nürnberg’s Grundig-Stadion though. The national team head coach spoke about the game, the opponents, critique of his players, the match in Spain on Tuesday and changes.
Question: Mr Lӧw, what do you make of the 4-0 win over Gibraltar?
Joachim Löw: I can’t be happy with the team’s performance and the scoreline. 4-0 just isn’t enough, we didn’t score enough. I expected more from the side, especially after the break. We managed to at least create some chances in the first half and score three goals. We didn’t create that many chances in the second half though. We didn’t play at the same tempo and were no longer on the path which we had to be on.
Question: Were you impressed by Gibraltar’s fighting strength?
Löw: No, I wasn’t. They always have to defend and will gradually improve the more they play together. But we would have scored more should we have played our game the way it should have been played.
Question: Who are you criticising in particular?
Löw: Especially those who sometimes had a chance, and those who I expected more conviction from. More shots, more threat in front of goal.
The Germany national team won their fourth qualifying game on their way to EURO 2016 in France yesterday evening. The reigning World Champions ran out 4-0 winners over UEFA new boys Gibraltar.
Joachim Löw was far from satisfied at the press conference at Nürnberg’s Grundig-Stadion though. The national team head coach spoke about the game, the opponents, critique of his players, the match in Spain on Tuesday and changes.
Question: Mr Lӧw, what do you make of the 4-0 win over Gibraltar?
Joachim Löw: I can’t be happy with the team’s performance and the scoreline. 4-0 just isn’t enough, we didn’t score enough. I expected more from the side, especially after the break. We managed to at least create some chances in the first half and score three goals. We didn’t create that many chances in the second half though. We didn’t play at the same tempo and were no longer on the path which we had to be on.
Question: Were you impressed by Gibraltar’s fighting strength?
Löw: No, I wasn’t. They always have to defend and will gradually improve the more they play together. But we would have scored more should we have played our game the way it should have been played.
Question: Who are you criticising in particular?
Löw: Especially those who sometimes had a chance, and those who I expected more conviction from. More shots, more threat in front of goal.
Question: Is that also the case with Lukas Podolski?
Löw: I’m also aware that it’s tough for him to play 90 minutes at a high tempo, that’s the way it is. Lukas just needs lots of game time, he has the quality. He hasn’t had that game time in the last six months. He didn’t play enough at the World Cup and after that too. For this reason, I can’t throw any criticism at him. But we and he have to think about what next year will bring for him.
Question: Is it a psychological issue for him and with other World Cup winners?
Löw: There are lots of memories and festivities, but we have to let these go at the end of this year and draw a line under it. Some players will be happy when this World Cup year is done with. It will be a bit too expected that excitement drops somewhat after this massive success and the players will get a little tired in their heads. I previously expected that this would happen. Players will be physically and mentally fresher in the New Year after the winter break and three weeks of preparation, I’m convinced.
Question: Will there be any fear or concern for the game in Spain?
Löw: We want to show what we have in us and win one more time before the end of the year. It’s certainly not revenge for the matches in 2008 or 2010, when we lost. Those games play no role for both sides. We don’t have one or two players with us, Spain too. From that point of view, it’s a game with different conditions.
Question: You have announced that there will be changes in the New Year. Do you stick by this?
Löw: One or two players have to come in in the New Year, something which is important for me and crucial for the team.
