Voices on Germany – Scotland: “It was about believing in ourselves”

Voices about the game
Germany vs Scotland: “It was about believing in ourselves”

First a gala performance, then the goal was scored. Overall, the DFB team is very satisfied, but Nagelsmann puts the brakes on the euphoria

“The myth of the tournament team is being revived,” said ZDF commentator Oliver Schmidt, summing up the national team’s opening match immediately after the final whistle. “This radical cure of Julian Nagelsmann finds his first highlight today in his first competitive match.” And of course the players of the German team were also very happy with the 5:1. But Julian Nagelsmann remained reserved.

The national coach was satisfied. However, a “perfect start” was not the headline he would write about this game. “It was about believing in ourselves.” The beginning was important: “The first 20 minutes were impressive, I think. Lots of power, lots of aggression, lots of counter-pressing. We scored two very good goals to start with.” Nagelsmann was also satisfied that so many players were involved in the goals. “It’s really valuable that not just one person gets the flowers today, but that we can spread the word.”

Nagelsmann: “Hungary is difficult to grasp”

Nagelsmann continued to stress that he was “not a warning voice”, but he did not want to talk about euphoria. “The boys know that it was a very good first step. A first step that we needed to follow up with a second one and we will try that on Wednesday.” And Nagelsmann immediately showed respect for the task, because Hungary “are an unpleasant team, difficult to tackle”.

The German captain was a little more euphoric than his coach: “The start is of course exactly what we wanted,” said İlkay Gündoğan after the game. “It’s exactly this atmosphere in the stadium, the euphoria with our own fans, that’s exactly what we need to go far.”

Scotland captain: The Germans “were simply better”

The analysis by Scotland captain Andy Robertson mirrors this: “In the first half we obviously had a plan, but we didn’t put it into practice as we had imagined. The Germans were simply better than us. It became difficult in the second half.” ZDF co-commentator Christoph Kramer also found that “They made it really easy for us.”

The only good news is that German captain İlkay Gündoğan apparently did not suffer any serious injuries in the red card foul at the end of the first half. “The ligaments are stable,” he reported when asked about it.

Füllkrug: “We didn’t let up after any goal”

Goal scorers Jamal Musiala and Niclas Füllkrug were also happy with the game. “I don’t think we could have had a better start,” said Musiala. “The goal at the end hurts a little.” Nevertheless: “We have so much quality on the pitch and when we’re in the flow, it just works.”

Niclas Füllkrug had the same impression: “We didn’t let up after any goal. Then, over 90 minutes, it was a completely deserved victory.” When asked about the fans, Füllkrug said: “You could definitely tell that things were different again.”

Can: “I was on vacation two days ago”

Emre Can was also very happy with the game: “We have a lot of quality and today with the fans behind us it was a great performance.” But above all, Can was grateful: “It’s a great feeling and a crazy story, that’s why we love football. I was on vacation two days ago, then the call came on Wednesday.”

Sources: ZDF, DPA