News (engl.)

Germany earned a hard-fought 1-0 win over Northern Ireland in an intense contest at a raucous Windsor Park in Belfast, maintaining top spot in their World Cup qualifying group. After the match, national team coach Julian Nagelsmann reflected on the lessons learned.

DFB.de: Mr. Nagelsmann, how do you assess the hard-earned win against Northern Ireland?

Julian Nagelsmann: It was an important win and a big step in the Group A standings. It wasn’t easy to produce an aesthetically pleasing performance. If we’d finished a few situations more cleanly in the first half, we could’ve scored more. If we’d made it 2-0, the game would have been more comfortable.

DFB.de: What takeaways are you bringing into November?

Nagelsmann: We’ve shown that we can embrace these kinds of games. That’s an important learning experience and a big step forward. If we take one or two fewer steps in a match like this, we lose or draw. We still need to keep developing our style of football, but this game needed different qualities.

DFB.de: Your team has now scored five of its eight qualifying goals from set pieces. Is that a new strength or a reflection of missing personnel?

Nagelsmann: It’s a new quality, and something we’ve worked on a fair bit. The players are thinking about set pieces – they can break open a game and be a way to beat teams at their own game. But we also need to create clear chances from open play again. This international break had a different focus, more on the defensive side, so I can’t fault the team. We didn’t create enough from open play, but we’ll get there again.

DFB.de: What sets Nick Woltemade apart – and who would you compare him to?

Nagelsmann: I wouldn’t compare him to anyone. You can’t ignore his development. Just last September, he wasn’t even registered for the Champions League. Then he really took off in the second half of the season. He’s a player who still has many steps to take – and will take them. Tim Kleindienst and Niclas Füllkrug are classic centre-forwards. Kai Havertz can play anywhere across the front. I see Nick more as a second striker. He worked harder defensively than before – and sometimes that earns you a goal.

DFB.de: Are Leon Goretzka and Aleksandar Pavlović now your first-choice pair in defensive midfield?

Nagelsmann: Both did well. But we need to be prepared for every eventuality. We’ll assess how they perform at their clubs. If two others are in better form... But if they continue to play well over the next four weeks, they have a good chance of starting again.

DFB.de: There are only two international breaks left before the World Cup squad is named. Is the squad already set?

Nagelsmann: Of course, we have a rough idea of what the World Cup squad might look like. But the first step is qualification. We need to monitor how players are developing at their clubs. Around 15 or 16 players have been with us regularly over the past two years. So you can already see a core squad taking shape.