Julian Nagelsmann appeared at the press conference, as usual, confident of himself, of his players and of Germany’s ability to eliminate Spain. Both teams have undoubtedly played the best football in the Euros, but only one can continue ahead: “I don’t know if it’s an early final. The only thing I know is that we want to be in the semi-finals.“Hopefully it will be as interesting as everyone is predicting,” he mused.
The coach has a plan to stop the football shown by his namesake, Luis de la Fuente, through his players. He recognises that “the Spanish always try to press very high, it is a quality they have acquired” and that they play with “a lot of simplicity instead of just tiki-taka”. In response to this, he recognises that “many games are decided in the centre”, as Toni Kroos said: “I think it’s good that he says that, it shows that he is assuming his responsibility” and recalls that “our central axis is very good, we don’t have to be afraid of theirs or worry about it”. In addition, he highlighted how he wants to stop Rodri: “He’s a key player for the Spanish side, but we also have an idea for him. He won’t be able to play every ball without pressure.”
Nagelsmann was reminded of the 6-0 Nations League defeat against Spain at La Cartuja, but he was unfazed: “I will never say in the dressing room that this is revenge for a Nations League match. I wasn’t there, and neither were some of the players. So I don’t rate it and it has no relevance for tomorrow. If some players want revenge, they should be happy to experience it.”
Lamine Yamal, present
The Barça player was one of the names that appeared most often in the press conference. And the German added to the praise received by the striker during the Euro Cup: “He is a very big talent. He has done it very consistently this year and there are not many who have remained so stable throughout a year at Barcelona.“. And yet, he issued a warning, surely not only to him, but above all to him, saying that “he is only 16 years old, which means that our players have a great chance of controlling him. We will see how he reacts when things get more difficult.” However, he lowered the tone when he commented that “don’t worry, we don’t want to leave him speechless.”
Nagelsmann understands that he must focus more on his players: “My focus is less on Yamal and more on Jamal (Musiala). We want to have the ball ourselves, that is always more pleasant and that is the idea for tomorrow as well.”
Gündogan served as captain
Ilkay has been wearing the German national team armband since it was handed to him by Hansi Flick: “I have prepared very well for this tournament. My problem was mental fatigue. We have travelled a lot all season, with many games, and it has not been easy. But for a tournament like this at home you are very motivated, I have not needed any extra motivation other than that. We have a great squad and a great group and we will try to extend this good moment,” he said about his presence at the Euros.
Gündogan also responded to Joselu, who said he wanted to retire Kroos: “There is no need to remind Toni that this could be his last game.“We will do everything we can to get him to play two more games. We have shown good football and we are now in the quarter-finals, so I am looking forward to tomorrow’s challenge. From now on we want to put the icing on the cake.”
2024-07-04 17:15:53
#Nagelsmann #sends #warning #Lamine #Yamal
