Julian Nagelsmann (national coach, on MagentaTV): “They were very unpleasant opponents, you have to win a game like that first. And that shows a good maturation process, in November we wouldn’t have won this game. In my time in charge so far we have also collapsed a few times, today the team didn’t always shine, but you have to work on a game like that sometimes. The expectation in the stadium and in the dressing room was three points, and we got them. It was also a good defensive performance, from the goalkeeper and the whole team. Everyone gave their all, they pushed each other so that we didn’t concede a goal. In the game against Switzerland it will be important that we have as many players from the first eleven back on the pitch as possible, because we have deliberately distributed the roles. We believe in the players’ respective strengths in their roles. Of course we may change one or two players, we have to see how everyone got through this game. But as of now everyone is healthy.”
Ilkay Gündogan (on MagentaTV): “It feels like we’re getting better and better. But while things are getting better, you always have to overcome difficulties, and this game today showed that. That’s just how a tournament is: you have to survive dangerous situations and then you have to strike when the chance arises. We definitely played it down in the second half. With regard to my own performance, I always wanted to remain patient, do my job as well as I could without taking myself too seriously. But the more often you play together, the better the feeling for the other player becomes. Hopefully it continues like this.”
Manuel Neuer (on MagentaTV): “We wanted to repeat our performance against Scotland, but we knew how difficult a second group match could be. That’s why we’re pleased that we were so dominant here and deserved to win. Germany is always one of the favorites. But we have to do our homework, the next match against Switzerland is the hardest in this group. We’ll analyze everything and try to keep the momentum going.”
Toni Kroos (on ARD): “It’s always important to confirm your performance. In recent years we have very rarely won the first two games of the tournament, and you could see that it was more difficult than against Scotland. But we survived the situations well. Surviving such moments is extremely beneficial for the team, because then you believe that you can do it. From the knockout round onwards, these difficult moments will be there frequently, and against these strong opponents it can always happen that you fall behind. We won’t be playing seven games from the start here.”
Maximilian Mittelstädt (at MagentaTV): “It is important that we do not rest. We want to carry this euphoria that we have now slowly sparked into the next games. Everything is possible for us. We have shown very good performances in two games and if we can confirm that in the next few weeks, then we can achieve great things.”