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Löw: “We were always in control”

Germany recorded a second win on their road to the 2018 World Cup in Russia on Saturday night, beating Czech Republic 3-0. Joachim Löw was delighted with his side’s performance and we heard from the Die Mannschaft head coach and his players after the game.

Joachim Löw: It was great to play in front of the Hamburg crowd. The team were always in control. We played very well out of the back and knew that we would have to use diagonal balls to break down this Czech team. We certainly made the most of our good link-up play and didn’t give our opponents any chances on the counter either.

Thomas Müller: We could have scored more goals, but all in all it was a very good performance. I’m obviously happy to have scored another two goals. Credit to the fans here in Hamburg; their support today was superb.

Toni Kroos: Everything went as planned. We didn’t exactly know what to expect and played brilliantly throughout the 90 minutes. We were a little surprised by the Czech Republic’s attacking approach, but we dealt with their pressing well and made the most of the space.

Jérôme Boateng: Our interplay was good, we got a good amount of shots away and we had Czech Republic doing all the running. It was a very good overall performance, although perhaps we could have won by more.

Mats Hummels: Jérôme and I often picked the right pass from the back and it helped that our teammates made so many good runs. We didn’t start our qualifying campaign well last time and we’re determined to avoid that this year. We’re very focused right now and things are looking good. I really enjoyed the game today. The atmosphere in the stadium was fantastic.

Benedikt Höwedes: We were superb at playing the ball out of the back today. We’re more than happy with the 3-0 win. Both of our centre backs were brilliant; some of their balls were top notch and took a lot of players out of the game.

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Germany recorded a second win on their road to the 2018 World Cup in Russia on Saturday night, beating Czech Republic 3-0. Joachim Löw was delighted with his side’s performance and we heard from the Die Mannschaft head coach and his players after the game.

Joachim Löw: It was great to play in front of the Hamburg crowd. The team were always in control. We played very well out of the back and knew that we would have to use diagonal balls to break down this Czech team. We certainly made the most of our good link-up play and didn’t give our opponents any chances on the counter either.

Thomas Müller: We could have scored more goals, but all in all it was a very good performance. I’m obviously happy to have scored another two goals. Credit to the fans here in Hamburg; their support today was superb.

Toni Kroos: Everything went as planned. We didn’t exactly know what to expect and played brilliantly throughout the 90 minutes. We were a little surprised by the Czech Republic’s attacking approach, but we dealt with their pressing well and made the most of the space.

Jérôme Boateng: Our interplay was good, we got a good amount of shots away and we had Czech Republic doing all the running. It was a very good overall performance, although perhaps we could have won by more.

Mats Hummels: Jérôme and I often picked the right pass from the back and it helped that our teammates made so many good runs. We didn’t start our qualifying campaign well last time and we’re determined to avoid that this year. We’re very focused right now and things are looking good. I really enjoyed the game today. The atmosphere in the stadium was fantastic.

Benedikt Höwedes: We were superb at playing the ball out of the back today. We’re more than happy with the 3-0 win. Both of our centre backs were brilliant; some of their balls were top notch and took a lot of players out of the game.