Just two days remain before Germany’s opening group stage game at the World Cup in Qatar against Japan (23rd November, 14:00 CET). Niklas Süle and Jamal Musiala spoke to the media during a press conference on Monday morning, with DFB.de summing up all the key quotes.
Jamal Musiala on...
...keeping the nerves at bay: It’s important to remain relaxed about what’s happening and to not put too much pressure on yourself. You also have to have some fun, and then everything will work out.
...his memories of the World Cup: I always watched the best players at the World Cup. To watch Mario Götze score the winning goal in 2014 was a great moment. I was watching it at home in England with my parents.
...comparisons with Lionel Messi: I think it’s a big honour to be compared to Messi. He has been playing at the top level for his entire career. It’s always hard to compare yourself to others. I prefer to focus on myself and on where I can improve.
...lessons learned in England: England have a lot of quality. Their players are strong individually, and always look for those one-v-one situations and play with a lot of courage. We can work with that. I learned different things with England’s youth teams than I did in Germany. It was more focused on the individual, and they always told me to “Play with freedom.” That stuck with me and it will always be part of me.
...Niklas Süle: He’s really strong in one-v-ones, and it’s not fun to come up against him. He’s quick and strong on the ball. We always have fun. I don’t want to pile too much praise on him, however. (laughs).
...winning the World Cup: We have the quality needed to go far in this tournament. We are all going into this tournament knowing that we could win it. We are all looking forward to it finally getting underway.
Niklas Süle on...
...the defence: We have been playing together for a while now. In a tournament like this, we need to provide stability and be a force at the back. We will have a lot of the ball, so we need to be on our toes defensively. There were a couple of things from the game against Oman that we need to improve on.
...the squad: Every player that’s here has proven themselves at their clubs. We are from a footballing nation, and there are lots of players who want to play for the national team, especially at a World Cup. Everyone that didn’t make it will be disappointed, but every player here brings their best performance each and every week, and deserve to be here.
...the team’s base camp at the World Cup: It’s another great location, with plenty of options to keep busy. The surroundings are great and we want to be here for a long time. We want to repay the privilege we feel at being here out on the pitch.
...Hansi Flick: He has a knack for creating unity. Obviously, our preparations this time around are a bit different. There are many meetings and we are being extremely well prepared for our opponents and our own tactics. We have the chance to achieve something here that not many footballers will ever have the chance to do. We need a strong team spirit for the tournament, and Hansi is doing a great job.
...Jamal Musiala: I much prefer to play alongside him, instead of against him. But, I also know how to defend against him (laughs). We played a friendly against the FC Bayern U19s one time, and you could already see what an exceptional talent he is. He then deservedly moved up to the first team. I don’t want to praise him too much, because I don’t want him to get too full of himself. But, I’m not worried that that will happen. I hope that his strong form at Bayern will carry over to this tournament.
...his position: I think that my recent games in Dortmund proved that I can be an option at right-back. Hansi Flick will decide where he thinks I can be most effective for the team. If I can do that as a right-back, then I would happily do that.
…staying focused during the tournament: In football, it’s normal to go through phases where things are going well and when things are going poorly. In a tournament mode, you can’t allow yourself to have too many negative phases. You don’t have many chances to make up for poor form at the World Cup, like we saw in 2018. We have a short time to learn our tactics in order to be ready to perform to our best on Wednesday. That includes keeping our shape in defence to be ready to defend against counter-attacks, because our team look to play attacking football. We have had some problems in that areas recently, which we can’t allow ourselves against Japan.
...his start to the season: It was something new for me, in a new surrounding after moving to a new club. Unfortunately, I injured myself in the first game and tried to come back too quickly. I tried to use the time to return to full fitness. I need to be able to play every three days. I was in touch with Hansi Flick regularly and told him that I want to take on responsibility at what will be my second World Cup, in order for us to be as successful as possible. We can’t just pay lip service to this, however, and need to be able to show this on the pitch on Wednesday. I’m really looking forward to the first game.
...the 2018 World Cup: It wasn’t anything traumatic. Football moves at a fast pace, and there’s little time to spend talking about successes and disappointments. No one who was part of that tournament is still thinking about the games against Mexico or South Korea. It’s a World Cup – you don’t need any more motivation than that.
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Just two days remain before Germany’s opening group stage game at the World Cup in Qatar against Japan (23rd November, 14:00 CET). Niklas Süle and Jamal Musiala spoke to the media during a press conference on Monday morning, with DFB.de summing up all the key quotes.
Jamal Musiala on...
...keeping the nerves at bay: It’s important to remain relaxed about what’s happening and to not put too much pressure on yourself. You also have to have some fun, and then everything will work out.
...his memories of the World Cup: I always watched the best players at the World Cup. To watch Mario Götze score the winning goal in 2014 was a great moment. I was watching it at home in England with my parents.
...comparisons with Lionel Messi: I think it’s a big honour to be compared to Messi. He has been playing at the top level for his entire career. It’s always hard to compare yourself to others. I prefer to focus on myself and on where I can improve.
...lessons learned in England: England have a lot of quality. Their players are strong individually, and always look for those one-v-one situations and play with a lot of courage. We can work with that. I learned different things with England’s youth teams than I did in Germany. It was more focused on the individual, and they always told me to “Play with freedom.” That stuck with me and it will always be part of me.
...Niklas Süle: He’s really strong in one-v-ones, and it’s not fun to come up against him. He’s quick and strong on the ball. We always have fun. I don’t want to pile too much praise on him, however. (laughs).
...winning the World Cup: We have the quality needed to go far in this tournament. We are all going into this tournament knowing that we could win it. We are all looking forward to it finally getting underway.
Niklas Süle on...
...the defence: We have been playing together for a while now. In a tournament like this, we need to provide stability and be a force at the back. We will have a lot of the ball, so we need to be on our toes defensively. There were a couple of things from the game against Oman that we need to improve on.
...the squad: Every player that’s here has proven themselves at their clubs. We are from a footballing nation, and there are lots of players who want to play for the national team, especially at a World Cup. Everyone that didn’t make it will be disappointed, but every player here brings their best performance each and every week, and deserve to be here.
...the team’s base camp at the World Cup: It’s another great location, with plenty of options to keep busy. The surroundings are great and we want to be here for a long time. We want to repay the privilege we feel at being here out on the pitch.
...Hansi Flick: He has a knack for creating unity. Obviously, our preparations this time around are a bit different. There are many meetings and we are being extremely well prepared for our opponents and our own tactics. We have the chance to achieve something here that not many footballers will ever have the chance to do. We need a strong team spirit for the tournament, and Hansi is doing a great job.
...Jamal Musiala: I much prefer to play alongside him, instead of against him. But, I also know how to defend against him (laughs). We played a friendly against the FC Bayern U19s one time, and you could already see what an exceptional talent he is. He then deservedly moved up to the first team. I don’t want to praise him too much, because I don’t want him to get too full of himself. But, I’m not worried that that will happen. I hope that his strong form at Bayern will carry over to this tournament.
...his position: I think that my recent games in Dortmund proved that I can be an option at right-back. Hansi Flick will decide where he thinks I can be most effective for the team. If I can do that as a right-back, then I would happily do that.
…staying focused during the tournament: In football, it’s normal to go through phases where things are going well and when things are going poorly. In a tournament mode, you can’t allow yourself to have too many negative phases. You don’t have many chances to make up for poor form at the World Cup, like we saw in 2018. We have a short time to learn our tactics in order to be ready to perform to our best on Wednesday. That includes keeping our shape in defence to be ready to defend against counter-attacks, because our team look to play attacking football. We have had some problems in that areas recently, which we can’t allow ourselves against Japan.
...his start to the season: It was something new for me, in a new surrounding after moving to a new club. Unfortunately, I injured myself in the first game and tried to come back too quickly. I tried to use the time to return to full fitness. I need to be able to play every three days. I was in touch with Hansi Flick regularly and told him that I want to take on responsibility at what will be my second World Cup, in order for us to be as successful as possible. We can’t just pay lip service to this, however, and need to be able to show this on the pitch on Wednesday. I’m really looking forward to the first game.
...the 2018 World Cup: It wasn’t anything traumatic. Football moves at a fast pace, and there’s little time to spend talking about successes and disappointments. No one who was part of that tournament is still thinking about the games against Mexico or South Korea. It’s a World Cup – you don’t need any more motivation than that.
