News (engl.)

In Jürgen Klopp’s third game in charge of the national team, Germany defeated Serbia 2-0 and finally secured their first win under their new head coach – and in some style! Klopp was more than happy with the performance in the post-match interview. DFB.de has compiled all the most important quotes about the game below.

Head coach Jürgen Klopp: I said to the boys before the match that I’ve never watched a bad game when the gegenpressing was off the scale – and today that was the case again. I’m happy with everything – the beginning, the middle, and the end. We were very good in the opening stages and could’ve done more with our possession in terms of scoring goals. It’s all about us having the confidence to put ourselves in positions in the box like we did for the opening goal. We can all afford to play with freedom and take risks if we win the ball back together. In particular, Nick Woltemade ran himself ragged today, but that’s just part of the game. Everyone was there when we were pressing. The back line defended brilliantly on the front foot. It was fantastic out of possession, and we played wonderful football on the ball. Before the match, I said that we need to cope with frustration when not every ball works out, but when you have that and can enjoy it in the process, then it can work out like it did today.

Serge Gnabry: The match was a fantastic experience. Leading the team out as captain is something that I’m very proud of – it’s a wonderful feeling and, to top it all off, we came away with a victory. The win makes the day all that much sweeter. It’s important to win matches that give you confidence. We’re in the middle of a process. Every win helps to speed it up.

Tom Bischof: The atmosphere at the stadium today was electric. It was just fun to feel the support from the fans. Then, we were on the ball from the word go, had a lot of chances and could’ve scored a couple more goals. On the whole, I think that we played well. Scoring in front of the Südtribüne is also an unbelievable feeling. I hope things carry on in this vein.

Florian Wirtz: It was unbelievably enjoyable, and I think that every one of us really gave it our all out there on the pitch. We followed the plan for the match to a tee and did almost everything correctly. There was a lot of movement in the middle of the park and we all combined well. Everyone was really up for playing football today, and things like that really help you stand out more. In the second half, I captained the team which I’m really proud of. Still, I tried to give it my all again and make sure that we could bring the game home.

Mika Baur: The team were unbelievable from the first minute to the very last. We put into practice the things that we discussed, like making life difficult with our gegenpressing paired with some players who like taking risks. The game today was a highlight for everyone, not just for me because of my debut. I didn’t even realise at first that I was going to be brought on. I was surprised, my heart was thumping, but it was business as usual when I was on the pitch.

Jonas Urbig: It was impressive to see how we performed as a team today. We dominated the opposition from the first minute to the final whistle. It’s always special to keep a clean sheet as a goalkeeper. Manu (Neuer) and Ulle (ed. Sven Ulreich) wrote to me before the game to wish me lots of luck. I was very happy with their messages.