In three days time, Germany will face England at Wembley Stadium in the round of 16 at the UEFA EURO 2020. Ahead of the game, Serge Gnabry and Thomas Müller spoke about preparations for the game and the mood within the team. DFB.de has summed up all the key quotes from today’s press conference.
Thomas Müller on...
...the upcoming game: In order to get in the mood for a round of 16 game, you always look to the past. I have some good memories of playing at Wembley when we won the Champions League in 2013. We beat England in 2010. But, that has nothing to do with Tuesday’s game. Some people will be able to draw some motivation from that. We are looking forward to the game and to our opponents. England are always ambitious, but we both played well in our respective groups and have also had to deal with some criticism. England drew 0-0 with Scotland while we had hoped to take more than just a 2-2 draw against Hungary. This is a knockout game. Both teams have individual players that can make a difference, and both are confident enough to say that they will win. That makes it a very interesting game.
...his knee: If I had any issues, then I wouldn’t have trained today. It’s not the case that I’m hampered by injury. Of course you feel it, but I’m experienced enough to deal with it.
...rollercoaster tournaments: You’re always hoping that a team, including the one that wins the tournament in the end, will be impressive throughout and dominate every game. But, that’s not possible nowadays. You can see that by looking at some of the other groups, and even at past tournaments like in 2016 when Portugal only won their first game in the knockouts. We had expected the game against Hungary to go differently. The fact that we conceded two goals against a very defensive-minded Hungary side wasn’t part of the plan. We managed to come back, even after we conceded immediately after our first equaliser. But, we kept pushing and were rewarded. We want to use that in order to take the next step in our upcoming game, which will be very different. Close results are part of the process, as is a critical analysis. The aim is always to keep moving forwards. We have the self-confidence and the desire, and then we’ll have to wait and see which of our expectations we manage to meet.
...chances on goal: If I compare the games against France and Hungary, then we were maybe lacking one or two attacking players against France's strong attack. We were also lacking precision and that finishing touch. We looked more energetic against Portugal, but they also had more options. Looking at the game against Hungary, it’s obvious that you won’t have many chances when you’re up against a side that’s defending so deep. The downside was the goals that we conceded.
...the approach against England: It will be important for us to keep a clean sheet against England, something we didn’t manage in the group stage. We will need to be alert when they switch over to attack and try to keep their offence at bay. Every one of us will need to have the mindset that it’s possible to narrowly win this game. We need to be creative in attack, while also not losing our shape. Having a healthy balance between the two is important in games like this.
...areas of improvement in defence: I think we defended quite well against France, as you barely saw anything from Antoine Griezmann and Karim Benzema. What stood out was that we’re rarely outnumbered when we concede, but that we lose our shape in those moments. It’s often the case that our opponents get one opportunity to score against us which they then use. We need to continue to press hard when we’re outnumbered and aren’t feeling so secure. You also have to have the desire and the will to contest challenges and to be nasty at times.
...Joshua Kimmich: Regardless of where he plays, he’s always a key figure for the team. He is a very skilled footballer, he’s strong in tackles, can read the game and always wants to score or prevent goals on the other end. He’s the most offensively-minded defensive player we have in that position on the wings. If he’s playing in that position, then he can always be counted on to set up or to score goals.
...his role: I’m always waiting in the spaces in between. I feel like I gain possession a little earlier there, and that I can initiate more. I often have the feeling that I’m drawn towards the ball. I haven’t really found myself with any goalscoring opportunities so far, like I’d like to. Of course I want to score my first goal at the EUROs, but the most important thing is that we win games and advance.
...England’s respect for him: I’d like to be able to say that they feel threatened because of me, but I think it’s more due to what’s happened in the past. I don’t think that my opponents will be giving me any more room on the pitch because of that.
...Harry Kane’s goal drought: Big strikers are the best at being patient. They need to sit and wait for their chances to come. A striker always has the least touches during a game and afterwards, if things go well, they are the ones who feature the most prominently in the media. I don’t know if the reason for his lack of chances so far is because he and his teammates just haven’t clicked yet. But, it wouldn’t be an issue for us if Harry Kane doesn’t manage to score on us.
Serge Gnabry on...
...the round of 16: I’m very much looking forward to this game. I can’t wait to play England at Wembley and to hopefully advance.
...his record in England: So far, things have always gone well whenever I’ve returned to London. I still have many friends there, who will also hopefully be at the game.
...his performances at the EUROs so far: To not have scored a goal yet isn’t what you hope for as a striker. But, we’ve advanced as a team. I’ve taken on a different role and need to be patient. I’m continuing to wait for my opportunity to come. I didn’t take advantage of it against France, so I’m hoping that I’ll be able to score against England.
...Leroy Sané: His talent will always shine through. He hasn’t been at his best yet but if his confidence continues to grow then he will get his opportunity, which he will then have to take. He played hard against Hungary, and contributed a lot defensively. That was a good start, which he needs to build on. I’m confident that Leroy is giving it his all.
...communicating on the pitch: I think it’s important to have players on the pitch in every game that can give instructions and serve as leaders, in order to guide and encourage the others. We all have the motivation to give it our all, but there are also some days where things don’t go to plan. That’s why it’s important to have someone who can give you that extra push.
...opponents England: I’d say that we’re pretty evenly-matched. They have great players with a lot of individual quality in attack. We have a lot of respect for them, but it’s irrelevant to us what the local media is saying. We want to focus on the game, deliver a repeat of our performance against Portugal and win the game.
...the attack: We need to make sure that we create more opportunities to score in order to up the pressure on our opponents so that they aren’t able to counter. We need to be confident in attack and defence, and keep our shape.
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In three days time, Germany will face England at Wembley Stadium in the round of 16 at the UEFA EURO 2020. Ahead of the game, Serge Gnabry and Thomas Müller spoke about preparations for the game and the mood within the team. DFB.de has summed up all the key quotes from today’s press conference.
Thomas Müller on...
...the upcoming game: In order to get in the mood for a round of 16 game, you always look to the past. I have some good memories of playing at Wembley when we won the Champions League in 2013. We beat England in 2010. But, that has nothing to do with Tuesday’s game. Some people will be able to draw some motivation from that. We are looking forward to the game and to our opponents. England are always ambitious, but we both played well in our respective groups and have also had to deal with some criticism. England drew 0-0 with Scotland while we had hoped to take more than just a 2-2 draw against Hungary. This is a knockout game. Both teams have individual players that can make a difference, and both are confident enough to say that they will win. That makes it a very interesting game.
...his knee: If I had any issues, then I wouldn’t have trained today. It’s not the case that I’m hampered by injury. Of course you feel it, but I’m experienced enough to deal with it.
...rollercoaster tournaments: You’re always hoping that a team, including the one that wins the tournament in the end, will be impressive throughout and dominate every game. But, that’s not possible nowadays. You can see that by looking at some of the other groups, and even at past tournaments like in 2016 when Portugal only won their first game in the knockouts. We had expected the game against Hungary to go differently. The fact that we conceded two goals against a very defensive-minded Hungary side wasn’t part of the plan. We managed to come back, even after we conceded immediately after our first equaliser. But, we kept pushing and were rewarded. We want to use that in order to take the next step in our upcoming game, which will be very different. Close results are part of the process, as is a critical analysis. The aim is always to keep moving forwards. We have the self-confidence and the desire, and then we’ll have to wait and see which of our expectations we manage to meet.
...chances on goal: If I compare the games against France and Hungary, then we were maybe lacking one or two attacking players against France's strong attack. We were also lacking precision and that finishing touch. We looked more energetic against Portugal, but they also had more options. Looking at the game against Hungary, it’s obvious that you won’t have many chances when you’re up against a side that’s defending so deep. The downside was the goals that we conceded.
...the approach against England: It will be important for us to keep a clean sheet against England, something we didn’t manage in the group stage. We will need to be alert when they switch over to attack and try to keep their offence at bay. Every one of us will need to have the mindset that it’s possible to narrowly win this game. We need to be creative in attack, while also not losing our shape. Having a healthy balance between the two is important in games like this.
...areas of improvement in defence: I think we defended quite well against France, as you barely saw anything from Antoine Griezmann and Karim Benzema. What stood out was that we’re rarely outnumbered when we concede, but that we lose our shape in those moments. It’s often the case that our opponents get one opportunity to score against us which they then use. We need to continue to press hard when we’re outnumbered and aren’t feeling so secure. You also have to have the desire and the will to contest challenges and to be nasty at times.
...Joshua Kimmich: Regardless of where he plays, he’s always a key figure for the team. He is a very skilled footballer, he’s strong in tackles, can read the game and always wants to score or prevent goals on the other end. He’s the most offensively-minded defensive player we have in that position on the wings. If he’s playing in that position, then he can always be counted on to set up or to score goals.
...his role: I’m always waiting in the spaces in between. I feel like I gain possession a little earlier there, and that I can initiate more. I often have the feeling that I’m drawn towards the ball. I haven’t really found myself with any goalscoring opportunities so far, like I’d like to. Of course I want to score my first goal at the EUROs, but the most important thing is that we win games and advance.
...England’s respect for him: I’d like to be able to say that they feel threatened because of me, but I think it’s more due to what’s happened in the past. I don’t think that my opponents will be giving me any more room on the pitch because of that.
...Harry Kane’s goal drought: Big strikers are the best at being patient. They need to sit and wait for their chances to come. A striker always has the least touches during a game and afterwards, if things go well, they are the ones who feature the most prominently in the media. I don’t know if the reason for his lack of chances so far is because he and his teammates just haven’t clicked yet. But, it wouldn’t be an issue for us if Harry Kane doesn’t manage to score on us.
Serge Gnabry on...
...the round of 16: I’m very much looking forward to this game. I can’t wait to play England at Wembley and to hopefully advance.
...his record in England: So far, things have always gone well whenever I’ve returned to London. I still have many friends there, who will also hopefully be at the game.
...his performances at the EUROs so far: To not have scored a goal yet isn’t what you hope for as a striker. But, we’ve advanced as a team. I’ve taken on a different role and need to be patient. I’m continuing to wait for my opportunity to come. I didn’t take advantage of it against France, so I’m hoping that I’ll be able to score against England.
...Leroy Sané: His talent will always shine through. He hasn’t been at his best yet but if his confidence continues to grow then he will get his opportunity, which he will then have to take. He played hard against Hungary, and contributed a lot defensively. That was a good start, which he needs to build on. I’m confident that Leroy is giving it his all.
...communicating on the pitch: I think it’s important to have players on the pitch in every game that can give instructions and serve as leaders, in order to guide and encourage the others. We all have the motivation to give it our all, but there are also some days where things don’t go to plan. That’s why it’s important to have someone who can give you that extra push.
...opponents England: I’d say that we’re pretty evenly-matched. They have great players with a lot of individual quality in attack. We have a lot of respect for them, but it’s irrelevant to us what the local media is saying. We want to focus on the game, deliver a repeat of our performance against Portugal and win the game.
...the attack: We need to make sure that we create more opportunities to score in order to up the pressure on our opponents so that they aren’t able to counter. We need to be confident in attack and defence, and keep our shape.
