Neuer: The victory means a lot to us

A young Germany side have defeated World Cup quarter finalists Russia 3-0 courtesy of goals from Leroy Sané, Niklas Süle and Serge Gnabry. Here is the post match reaction from the players and head coach Joachim Löw following tonight’s match in the Red Bull Arena.

Joachim Löw: The first half went very well. We were in control of the play, let the ball do the work and managed to get in behind and create chances to score. Two of our goals were very well worked. I believe Leroy will benefit from scoring tonight. He created three or four good chances to score in previous matches but wasn’t able to take them. His goal tonight will come as a great relief to him. Kai Havertz impressed me tonight. He was composed on the ball, has good awareness, quickly recognizes certain situations, is always open on the ball and always want to attack with the ball. He took our first attacking chance and played in Gnabry very well for the third goal. When you make so many changes in a match the flow of the match will obviously go down. In the second half we didn’t have the space we previously had in possession and this led to a chaotic period. It was a critical moment in the match for us as Russia no longer sat deep and instead pressed us back. We had seen how Russia operate this style of play in videos before the match. Our style of play worked well in the first half. At this summer’s World Cup, we didn’t have the pace in attack that we now possess, we were not able to create the chances in the final third and that made it easier for our opponents to defend. We performed much better today. I hope that Jonas’ injury isn’t as bad as it first appeared to be. He probably has a bruised ankle but our first impressions are that he hasn’t broken anything. Mats Hummels and other players deal with sitting on the bench very well. They are very professional and accepted our decision very well.

Manuel Neuer: The victory means a lot to us. We know want to end our poor year positively by winning our last two games and today was a good start. We want to try and put a similar display in against the Netherlands. We have a lot of players with huge potential, who are showing just what they are capable of.

Serge Gnabry: We can be happy with our performance today, especially in the first half, where we played very well and took our chances. We could have perhaps done more in the second half though. Kai’s pass for my goal was so good, he has great vision. We are all giving 100% at the moment. Kai is only 19, but is playing amazingly well.

Leroy Sané: I think we have a number of talented youngsters in all positions. We know need to prepare for the game on Monday properly, so that we put a good performance in. The younger players have shown the coach today that we can fit into this system.

Kai Havertz: It’s very enjoyable to play with so many young players. We can still learn a lot from the more experienced guys too. It’s clear how much quality this team has at its disposal. It was really important for me to be part of the team today.

Niklas Süle: The younger players in the team have shown that we can adapt to the system well, although there is still a lot to improve.

[mmc/dr]

A young Germany side have defeated World Cup quarter finalists Russia 3-0 courtesy of goals from Leroy Sané, Niklas Süle and Serge Gnabry. Here is the post match reaction from the players and head coach Joachim Löw following tonight’s match in the Red Bull Arena.

Joachim Löw: The first half went very well. We were in control of the play, let the ball do the work and managed to get in behind and create chances to score. Two of our goals were very well worked. I believe Leroy will benefit from scoring tonight. He created three or four good chances to score in previous matches but wasn’t able to take them. His goal tonight will come as a great relief to him. Kai Havertz impressed me tonight. He was composed on the ball, has good awareness, quickly recognizes certain situations, is always open on the ball and always want to attack with the ball. He took our first attacking chance and played in Gnabry very well for the third goal. When you make so many changes in a match the flow of the match will obviously go down. In the second half we didn’t have the space we previously had in possession and this led to a chaotic period. It was a critical moment in the match for us as Russia no longer sat deep and instead pressed us back. We had seen how Russia operate this style of play in videos before the match. Our style of play worked well in the first half. At this summer’s World Cup, we didn’t have the pace in attack that we now possess, we were not able to create the chances in the final third and that made it easier for our opponents to defend. We performed much better today. I hope that Jonas’ injury isn’t as bad as it first appeared to be. He probably has a bruised ankle but our first impressions are that he hasn’t broken anything. Mats Hummels and other players deal with sitting on the bench very well. They are very professional and accepted our decision very well.

Manuel Neuer: The victory means a lot to us. We know want to end our poor year positively by winning our last two games and today was a good start. We want to try and put a similar display in against the Netherlands. We have a lot of players with huge potential, who are showing just what they are capable of.

Serge Gnabry: We can be happy with our performance today, especially in the first half, where we played very well and took our chances. We could have perhaps done more in the second half though. Kai’s pass for my goal was so good, he has great vision. We are all giving 100% at the moment. Kai is only 19, but is playing amazingly well.

Leroy Sané: I think we have a number of talented youngsters in all positions. We know need to prepare for the game on Monday properly, so that we put a good performance in. The younger players have shown the coach today that we can fit into this system.

Kai Havertz: It’s very enjoyable to play with so many young players. We can still learn a lot from the more experienced guys too. It’s clear how much quality this team has at its disposal. It was really important for me to be part of the team today.

Niklas Süle: The younger players in the team have shown that we can adapt to the system well, although there is still a lot to improve.