Pascal Groß’ late strike handed Germany victory in their final friendly ahead of EURO 2024 on home soil. After being behind at half time, they turned the game around for an eventual hard-fought 2-1 win. DFB.de have all the reaction from Mönchengladbach.
Julian Nagelsmann: The second half was a lot better than the first. We were losing the ball too easily for long periods of the first half, playing too ponderously and too much through the middle. I made that clear at the break. We just needed a bit more bite all over the pitch in order to win the match. We brought the two wingers more into the game in the second period, which opened up more space in the middle.
Toni Kroos: We knew that we weren’t playing as well as we did in March. We made a lot of mistakes in the first half – technical errors. We played too sloppily and were getting hit on the counter. I think everyone knows what their role is. They’ve been made very clear and that’s something that will help us.
Ilkay Gündogan: This was a test for us. We were a bit sluggish in the first half, and they punished us clinically. Greece played well in the first period, but we shouldn’t let that overwhelm us. Luckily, we managed to score the second goal at the end and win the game. It was important that we showed that we have the quality to deal with setbacks. We need the fans’ support. That drives us forward. We’re heading into the EUROs feeling good, but there aren’t going to be any teams who’ll just roll over 4-0 or 5-0. We still have a week to go, we’re warmed up and want to keep our momentum going.
Manuel Neuer: You could tell in the second half that we were desperate to win the game. I wasn’t the only one who made mistakes, but I’m just thinking about my own error. I should have parried the ball away from danger. We didn’t have a good enough flow in the first half. We have to do better, because we even did better against Ukraine.
Pascal Groß’ late strike handed Germany victory in their final friendly ahead of EURO 2024 on home soil. After being behind at half time, they turned the game around for an eventual hard-fought 2-1 win. DFB.de have all the reaction from Mönchengladbach.
Julian Nagelsmann: The second half was a lot better than the first. We were losing the ball too easily for long periods of the first half, playing too ponderously and too much through the middle. I made that clear at the break. We just needed a bit more bite all over the pitch in order to win the match. We brought the two wingers more into the game in the second period, which opened up more space in the middle.
Toni Kroos: We knew that we weren’t playing as well as we did in March. We made a lot of mistakes in the first half – technical errors. We played too sloppily and were getting hit on the counter. I think everyone knows what their role is. They’ve been made very clear and that’s something that will help us.
Ilkay Gündogan: This was a test for us. We were a bit sluggish in the first half, and they punished us clinically. Greece played well in the first period, but we shouldn’t let that overwhelm us. Luckily, we managed to score the second goal at the end and win the game. It was important that we showed that we have the quality to deal with setbacks. We need the fans’ support. That drives us forward. We’re heading into the EUROs feeling good, but there aren’t going to be any teams who’ll just roll over 4-0 or 5-0. We still have a week to go, we’re warmed up and want to keep our momentum going.
Manuel Neuer: You could tell in the second half that we were desperate to win the game. I wasn’t the only one who made mistakes, but I’m just thinking about my own error. I should have parried the ball away from danger. We didn’t have a good enough flow in the first half. We have to do better, because we even did better against Ukraine.
