Julian Nagelsmann fluctuating between relief and self-control. Of course, the national coach was not satisfied with the national football team’s performance in the 2-0 win in Luxembourg, the bumpy penultimate step towards the World Cup in America.
But like his speech to his team after a particularly poor first half in the Grand Duchy, Nagelsmann chose a careful choice of words to describe the situation before Monday’s big battle for live tournament tickets (8.45 p.m. / ZDF) against Slovakia in Leipzig.
Don’t beat the team
“In the end, I felt the team couldn’t survive at the moment when they were really strong, to be honest, but we all want to be successful together,” said the 38-year-old, describing his moderate verbal strategy when analyzing an underwhelming performance.
Seven months before the start of the World Cup, the national team is just a fragile structure, without reliable automatisms and guarantees of success. The question is: despite or because of the work of the national coach? Nagelsmann has long been a pragmatist. “At the end of the day, football is a sport that produces results. We have pressure in this group, which of course we put a little on ourselves,” he said.
The fact remains that after four consecutive wins against Slovakia, a draw is enough to take first place and secure participation in the World Cup. That is the most important result of this trip Luxembourg. Other findings provide less encouragement ahead of summer’s World Cup.
Hope for people returning
Nagelsmann wants a sick team against Slovakia Joshua Kimmich and Nico Schlotterbeck “spotted on the pitch” again. In fact, the mentality of the leading players is also overlooked. When it comes to Schlotterbeck, the national coach is “very optimistic” after his foot injury, but when it comes to captain Kimmich, he is “very skeptical” after his ankle injury.
But in reality, this duo alone cannot work miracles. To be competitive internationally, Nagelsmann must hope for the return of another lost game. Marc-André ter Stegen in goal, Antonio Rüdiger in defense, Jamal Musiala and Kai Havertz in attack, plus Kimmich and Schlotterbeck: More than half of the starting Eleven could look different at the World Cup.
Woltemade World Cup Insurance
A few weeks ago the question arose as to why Woltemade wasn’t scoring goals in a DFB shirt. Now the last three goals in the 1-0 win at Northern Ireland and the two goals in Luxembourg were scored by the striker. This 23 year old player from Newcastle United has long been a World Cup guarantee for the national coach.
He praised the 1.98 meter tall man not only for his goals, but also for his hard work and extraordinary hard work. “I’m happy. He had a similar opportunity in the Nations League, which unfortunately, he hasn’t taken advantage of. Now he’s doing well, even at Newcastle, so he’s important for us,” said Nagelsmann.
Risk assessment against Slovakia
One point is enough against Slovakia. But Nagelsmann couldn’t play a draw. If there is a second defeat against Slovakia in the space of two months, Vabanque’s run in the World Cup playoffs threatens. “In general, we have a certain DNA in the team and most of them come from their favorite clubs,” Nagelsmann said of a winning mentality.
But those doubts could not be explained after the performance in Luxembourg. «We don’t have a phase where we shoot the opponent out of the stadium, but we have to work hard to achieve that. “We have to do that from the start, then I’m sure we will win the match,” said Nagelsmann.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:251115-930-295966/1
