News (engl.)

After opening their Nations League campaign with a draw away to the Netherlands, Germany now have their first home game of the competition to look forward to. Ahead of Sunday’s clash with Greece in Augsburg (20:45 CEST), head coach Jürgen Klopp and centre-back Jonathan Tah spoke to the media at the pre-match press conference. DFB.de has rounded up the key comments.

Jürgen Klopp on...

...what he took from the Netherlands game: We learned an awful lot from the game, which presented us with plenty of useful information. Whenever we defended together as a team, we did it really well. We won the ball in good areas and that gave us some promising opportunities on the counter. We struggled with the threat down the Netherlands’ right, but there were also some really good spells from us on the ball. There weren’t enough of them, of course – we want to see much more of that in the future – but they were there. We showed the lads those moments as well.

...Greece: They’ve got a lot of good players and a really talented generation. You could perhaps even call it a golden generation. I was really impressed when we analysed them. You can clearly see the progress they’ve made under their coach. There’s a lot of quality in attack, but they’re a good side throughout. They work incredibly hard and we have a lot of respect for them. We have to work extremely hard if we want to win. Greek football is in a really good place at the moment and there’s a lot going in the right direction. We want to make it as difficult as possible for them to play the way they want to, although we know we won’t be able to prevent that all the time.

...the last couple of training sessions: We had a really good session yesterday with the players who didn’t play or only got limited minutes. Today’s session was really important as well because we were able to focus on a different opponent, look at what we’re going to come up against and keep working on our own game. The idea now is to build on what we did well and take it further. That’s what we’re working towards.

...what they have been focusing on in preparation: We’re always working on every aspect of our game, but when you don’t have much time, you have to prioritise. The better our defensive organisation is, the more freedom it gives us to take risks going forward. We’re taking it step by step and trying to prepare ourselves for whatever a game might throw at us. When you’re starting something new, you have to keep working on things until they begin to click. The Netherlands had patterns of play that are much more established than ours can possibly be at this stage, especially given how many changes I’ve made to the squad. But I’m really enjoying working with the lads. We’re having a lot of meetings, working on a lot of things and trying things out. Ultimately, though, it’s what happens in the games that matters. We’ve done our analysis of Greece, but we’ll find out tomorrow exactly how they’re going to approach it.

...the goalkeepers: Alexander Nübel will play tomorrow. I heard there was some criticism of Marc-André ter Stegen after the last game and, to be honest, that really surprised me. It’s quite something when the opposition coach says our goalkeeper kept us in the game and people are still criticising him. Marc was outstanding. There were two occasions when he had the ball at his feet and didn’t play the pass he wanted to, or perhaps should have done. That happens. It’s certainly not something I’m concerned about. I was really, really pleased with his performance. Alex is getting his chance tomorrow anyway, but it has nothing to do with that. He deserves to play because all three goalkeepers have made a fantastic impression. Hopefully he enjoys it and keeps a clean sheet.

...his options up front: Jonny (Burkardt) was the first player who came to mind when Kai (Havertz) had to leave the camp, but I’m also really looking forward to Nick (Woltemade) joining us on Monday. Jonny was more or less just around the corner and I really like him as a player. I’m actually very comfortable with the options we have up front. And even beyond the 44 players we’ve named, we could have looked at the U21s as well. They’re playing tonight and there are plenty of good footballers in that team too.

...being back in the technical area after 18 months away: Yeah, I feel at home there. But it’s not as though I spent the last 18 months feeling uncomfortable either! I didn’t really think about it. I think I’d coached 1,081 games before this one, so this was number 1,082. It wasn’t new to me. We did everything the way we felt was right. I’ve done it plenty of times before; I’d just had a bit of a break. The only thing that did feel completely new was that moment just before the game. I’d never experienced it quite like that before. It felt really good – fantastic, actually. Then the whistle went and that feeling disappeared straight away. From that point on, all I was thinking about was how we could help the team play as well as possible.

...standing sections at Germany games: We all remember what it was like playing in empty stadiums during Covid. The atmosphere in a stadium can have a huge impact on a team’s performance. When you’ve got the right people standing there and really getting behind you, it can make a massive difference. We want to create a proper home atmosphere. I’m really pleased that standing areas are back.

Jonathan Tah on…

…Greece: It’ll be a different sort of game than the one against the Netherlands. They’ll have a more defensive set-up and look to hit us on the counterattack. Nevertheless, they have great players who are in good form and can perform on the international stage. We respect them and we have to be cautious of what they can do. We can and want to be dominant throughout the game.

…his first impressions of the new coaching staff: We really haven’t had a lot of time, but we’ve noticed the positive energy that the new coach and his staff have brought in. That helps us and it’s a lot of fun. I think we’ve had a pretty good start. Jürgen is passionate about his job and he’s very active, which helps us as a team. We’ve analysed the right moments to launch our counter pressing. It’s about acting as one; pressing so that we can put the other team under pressure. 

…the media’s focus on the Germany head coach: At the end of the day, it’s still us who are on the pitch, and we have to put into practice what the coach asks of us. I think we have a lot of responsibility as players, and we have to perform.

…the qualities that define Germany’s coach: the experience he brings to the table, the blend of fun and hard work, his absolute determination to win, and the way he can inspire us – these are what set him apart. After his first speech, we thought: “We’d walk through fire together now!”

…working with top coaches: As a player, you really appreciate it when you get the chance to work with lots of different coaches throughout your career. It’s an absolute privilege to be able to experience different approaches, to soak up different ideas and different ways of playing.

…his experience and confidence on the pitch: One reason I decided to move to Bayern was that I wanted to improve and become more mature in my role. As an experienced player, I consider it important to support the less experienced players and make sure they know I’ve got their back.