A victorious opener! The Germany national team have gotten off to the perfect start to EURO 2016 with a 2-0 win against Ukraine. A first international goal for defender Shkodran Mustafi and a late strike from Bastian Schweinsteiger ensured a fifth win in the opening fixture of a tournament for Joachim Löw. DFB.de has rounded up all the post-match reaction.
Bastian Schweinsteiger: I feel very good and I’m happy that my injury has healed and that we won. It wasn’t so easy to get to the ball (for the second goal). It’s unbelievable, you can only hope for such a return. I’m still not ready for 90 or 120 minutes, but I can play 45.
Head coach Joachim Löw: We still need to iron out a few issues. It was good that we were able to make the counter attack pay. The second goal was a real sucker punch for Ukraine. It wasn’t the plan for Basti to push so far forward. He was meant to calm things down in the team. Ukraine played a lot of long balls, so it was important to win the second balls. Basti has a lot to offer the team, especially when it’s already 1-0 and he can really display his qualities.
In the first half we had a gap between the defence and attack. In the second half we held our positions better and had more security on the ball as a result. It was much better and we could apply pressure quickly. But you have to admit, the Ukraine wingers were very good and we dealt with them well.
Going forward we had a few good attacks. But we need to have more shots and be more purposeful. A few times we lacked the final pass and gave the ball away too much moving forward in the first half. We need to improve there.
Shkodran Mustafi: First and foremost, it was important to start the tournament with a win and a clean sheet. It makes me especially happy to keep a clean sheet. We achieved everything that we set out to do. There were a few situations where we were a bit too often and the game was very back and forth, which we didn’t actually want. We’re all happy for Basti, that he can bounce back after so long out and score.
Manuel Neuer: We’re happy for everyone, but especially for Basti. He came in brilliantly and scored the goal. I hope that he can be back in the starting line-up soon. After Mats’ injury we had to make some changes. I think that Shkodran played brilliantly, defended superbly and is a real threat in attacking set pieces. I am happy to have someone like him in our defence.
Toni Kroos: Overall, we played a very standard match. We didn’t play well for 15 minutes before the break. It’s always important to start a tournament with a win.
A victorious opener! The Germany national team have gotten off to the perfect start to EURO 2016 with a 2-0 win against Ukraine. A first international goal for defender Shkodran Mustafi and a late strike from Bastian Schweinsteiger ensured a fifth win in the opening fixture of a tournament for Joachim Löw. DFB.de has rounded up all the post-match reaction.
Bastian Schweinsteiger: I feel very good and I’m happy that my injury has healed and that we won. It wasn’t so easy to get to the ball (for the second goal). It’s unbelievable, you can only hope for such a return. I’m still not ready for 90 or 120 minutes, but I can play 45.
Head coach Joachim Löw: We still need to iron out a few issues. It was good that we were able to make the counter attack pay. The second goal was a real sucker punch for Ukraine. It wasn’t the plan for Basti to push so far forward. He was meant to calm things down in the team. Ukraine played a lot of long balls, so it was important to win the second balls. Basti has a lot to offer the team, especially when it’s already 1-0 and he can really display his qualities.
In the first half we had a gap between the defence and attack. In the second half we held our positions better and had more security on the ball as a result. It was much better and we could apply pressure quickly. But you have to admit, the Ukraine wingers were very good and we dealt with them well.
Going forward we had a few good attacks. But we need to have more shots and be more purposeful. A few times we lacked the final pass and gave the ball away too much moving forward in the first half. We need to improve there.
Shkodran Mustafi: First and foremost, it was important to start the tournament with a win and a clean sheet. It makes me especially happy to keep a clean sheet. We achieved everything that we set out to do. There were a few situations where we were a bit too often and the game was very back and forth, which we didn’t actually want. We’re all happy for Basti, that he can bounce back after so long out and score.
Manuel Neuer: We’re happy for everyone, but especially for Basti. He came in brilliantly and scored the goal. I hope that he can be back in the starting line-up soon. After Mats’ injury we had to make some changes. I think that Shkodran played brilliantly, defended superbly and is a real threat in attacking set pieces. I am happy to have someone like him in our defence.
Toni Kroos: Overall, we played a very standard match. We didn’t play well for 15 minutes before the break. It’s always important to start a tournament with a win.
Sami Khedira: It was a classic opening fixture. It’s important that we won the game and got the points. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. I am especially happy for Basti. It’s important that we take another step forward with a win against Poland.
DFB president Reinhard Grindel: I’m very happy with this win. We are the first team to win my more than one goal. Bastian’s goal was obviously great; I am very happy for him. He has worked so hard. That was very important for him and the team.
We have worked very closely with the police delegation. It’s very important that our police help their French colleagues so that the hooligans are identified quickly.
Michail Fomenko (head coach Ukraine): We played well against the world champions and had our chances, but couldn’t make them count. We need to stay motivated, as we showed against Germany.
