News (engl.)

Germany rounded off an extended international window of four Nations League fixtures with a 0-0 draw against Greece in Thessaloniki, with only a goal missing from their performance. Head coach Jürgen Klopp has reflected on the past two weeks.

DFB.de: How happy are you with the team’s performance?

Jürgen Klopp: If someone had told me a week ago that we’d be able to produce the performances we did on Thursday and Sunday, I wouldn’t have believed them. I didn’t think it would be possible in such a short space of time. We had an outstanding first half, it was exceptional. The only problem is that we didn’t score a goal, well, not one that counted. We would’ve liked to have won, which is the only negative.

DFB.de: What’s your verdict on the past two weeks? What have you taken from it?

Klopp: People were saying German football was at rock bottom and that there was no talent. I’ve worked with 43 players over two weeks. They’re not lacking any talent. They’re keen to keep building on what we’ve started. Everyone showed what they can do and justified their inclusion. We showed that we’re capable of more in a few areas than people perhaps thought. I wanted to get something started, and I definitely saw signs of that. They’ve worked incredibly hard and taken on a huge amount of information, and these lads are absolutely brimming with talent.

DFB.de: There were two squads. What’s the plan for the two games in November?

Klopp: There’ll be a smaller squad, that’s for sure. We’re not going to play two different games with two different teams. These players, together with the U21s, form the pool we want to work with going forward. But the door is open for everyone, wide open. We now have plenty of options across a number of positions. That’s how you develop a certain way of playing. When the players next arrive, Germany’s footballing ‘hard drive’ won’t be completely empty. We won’t be starting from scratch.

DFB.de: Philipp Treu played at right-back for three games. How do you evaluate his performances?

Klopp: We hadn’t planned for him to play three games. You wouldn’t have thought he was new to the squad. He did a great job. He played with real confidence. He’s already got a very good understanding of our attacking patterns. He’s been great fun to work with.