MADRID, 4 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann has played down Germany’s poor record against Spain in recent decades and their heated exchanges ahead of the EURO 2024 quarter-final, although he also noted in his praise of Lamine Yamal that he “doesn’t have much experience”.
“Everything is ready. Tomorrow we will have a final review. We watched a lot of videos, we have analysed everything and we have the plan ready, we are confident that we will play a good game. We still have questions, I am not going to say which eleven we will play. We still have things to analyse. I am trying to imagine what we will need. In the last game we had to choose between Wirtz or Sané and it is a blessed problem,” he said about his team for this Friday in Stuttgart.
The German coach was soon asked about Pedri’s statements about Rüdiger’s pinching or Joselu’s wishing for Toni Kroos to retire. “They didn’t say anything harsh, it was all in humour. They were talking about Kroos’ last game, I don’t give it any importance. I like the way people talk on the pitch,” he said.
However, when asked about Lamine Yamal, he dropped the message coming from Germany about the lack of experience in the Spanish national team. “He has great talent. He has been very consistent, he will continue to be so for many years. I don’t think there are many who are as stable at his age. He is surrounded by many players. It is better to ask Gündogan, who knows him better. He has many qualities, he plays on both sides in one-on-one situations and he is only 16 years old. We have to be careful in defence,” he said.
“On the other hand, he doesn’t have much experience at this level, when things don’t go so well or when he faces a stronger opponent. That doesn’t mean we’re going to make tough tackles. He’s a fun player to watch for the neutral spectator,” he added.
“I’m not just focusing on Yamal. We have quality. We need the ball too and some defensive options. It’s always easier to play against a team that wants to have the ball if you have the ball. We want to control the game. Spain has a lot of things, not just the wingers, it’s difficult to defend the full-backs, players like Pedri, the combination of playing inside and outside. They’re a complex team to defend. Rüdiger is tough, I don’t know if he’s had a problem with Pedri or not. And of course there’s some spice, it’s the quarter-finals of a Euro,” he confessed.
On the other hand, Nagelsmann did not dwell too much on the recent 6-0 defeat by Germany against Spain or on the streak of not beating ‘La Roja’ in an official match since 1988. “I was not in those games. If we do not win any of the next 20 against Spain, I will be worried,” he said, confident that the atmosphere will help them.
“I don’t know if it’s an early final. We want to go through and be champions, like them. It will be a difficult match. We are two quality teams, who like to have the ball, to build up, to put high pressure on our rivals. We’ll see if the match is as interesting as everyone expects,” he added.
2024-07-04 19:09:59
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