A two-goal lead to start with, then suddenly going behind, before scoring a late equaliser – Hansi Flick saw all sorts of ups and downs in Monday night’s 3-3 draw against England in the UEFA Nations League. The Germany head coach took questions after a turbulent game between the two sides.
DFB.de: It was a wild finish to the Nations League. What are your feelings after the 3-3 against England?
Hansi Flick: Of course we are disappointed, as we had led 2-0. We played some really good football for 20 minutes after half time and deservedly went ahead. After they got one back the gaps began to show, and that can’t happen. The positive is that we came back once again.
DFB.de: How did your team let the game slip in such a short period of time?
Flick: We let them get the better of us for 15, 20 minutes. England were better then, but the goals came through individual errors. Every single player needs to know what they’ve got to do in their position. But I’ve also got to stand by my full-backs; yes, we’ve got to be covering better out of possession, but you need the wingers to help with that, something we didn’t do for two of their goals. That’s what we need to work on, but we also did a lot of things well.
DFB.de: You’re not going to be with your squad for another six weeks now. What will you be telling them?
Flick: It’s important that every player continues to work on themselves a bit now. That means working on their self-belief, fitness and confidence in their passing game. We can still take it up a notch as a team.
DFB.de: You had certain ideas in mind for the games against Hungary and England. Were your team able to implement them?
Flick: I tend to be very positive by nature. I’m putting the Hungary game completely to the side. We’ve got to gel more in defence, although we it was already a step in the right direction against England. We also created chances of our own. It’s key that we go into games with confidence.
DFB.de: Has Jamal Musiala earned himself a place in the starting XI?
Flick: We still have six weeks to go, and a lot can happen in that time. Jamal has shown what an exceptional talent he is – he helps in both defence and attack. He showed how special he is, which is exactly what we need, he is good for us.
DFB.de: Why did Thomas Müller start this game on the bench?
Flick: We have a lot of good players, and we used two new options in Kai Havertz and Jamal Musiala. We had already planned that, which was the reason. Kai and Jamal did really well.
DFB.de: Your players still have up to 13 matches until the World Cup. Will you be going to games often?
Flick: That is the case in many countries. We have to deal with the situation and make the best of it. We are already doing a lot of travelling to see what our players are doing around the grounds. I think that when we next meet as a squad, we will all be fired up to play a really good World Cup.
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A two-goal lead to start with, then suddenly going behind, before scoring a late equaliser – Hansi Flick saw all sorts of ups and downs in Monday night’s 3-3 draw against England in the UEFA Nations League. The Germany head coach took questions after a turbulent game between the two sides.
DFB.de: It was a wild finish to the Nations League. What are your feelings after the 3-3 against England?
Hansi Flick: Of course we are disappointed, as we had led 2-0. We played some really good football for 20 minutes after half time and deservedly went ahead. After they got one back the gaps began to show, and that can’t happen. The positive is that we came back once again.
DFB.de: How did your team let the game slip in such a short period of time?
Flick: We let them get the better of us for 15, 20 minutes. England were better then, but the goals came through individual errors. Every single player needs to know what they’ve got to do in their position. But I’ve also got to stand by my full-backs; yes, we’ve got to be covering better out of possession, but you need the wingers to help with that, something we didn’t do for two of their goals. That’s what we need to work on, but we also did a lot of things well.
DFB.de: You’re not going to be with your squad for another six weeks now. What will you be telling them?
Flick: It’s important that every player continues to work on themselves a bit now. That means working on their self-belief, fitness and confidence in their passing game. We can still take it up a notch as a team.
DFB.de: You had certain ideas in mind for the games against Hungary and England. Were your team able to implement them?
Flick: I tend to be very positive by nature. I’m putting the Hungary game completely to the side. We’ve got to gel more in defence, although we it was already a step in the right direction against England. We also created chances of our own. It’s key that we go into games with confidence.
DFB.de: Has Jamal Musiala earned himself a place in the starting XI?
Flick: We still have six weeks to go, and a lot can happen in that time. Jamal has shown what an exceptional talent he is – he helps in both defence and attack. He showed how special he is, which is exactly what we need, he is good for us.
DFB.de: Why did Thomas Müller start this game on the bench?
Flick: We have a lot of good players, and we used two new options in Kai Havertz and Jamal Musiala. We had already planned that, which was the reason. Kai and Jamal did really well.
DFB.de: Your players still have up to 13 matches until the World Cup. Will you be going to games often?
Flick: That is the case in many countries. We have to deal with the situation and make the best of it. We are already doing a lot of travelling to see what our players are doing around the grounds. I think that when we next meet as a squad, we will all be fired up to play a really good World Cup.
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