Germany turned in one of the most impressive EURO 2024 debuts of the tournament and looks set to hit the ground running in Wednesday’s second group stage match vs. Hungary.
The Germans put Scotland to the sword on Friday in a 5-1 opener that was so lopsided, several starters were able to enjoy early substitutions. And the injury news continues to be good, according to head coach Julian Nagelsmann.
“Everything is fine, everyone is healthy, everyone is fit. There’s nothing negative to announce,” Nagelsmann declared in Tuesday’s pre-game press conference, as captured by @iMiaSanMia.
The fast-talking former Bayern Munich man covered lots of ground in the presser, so let’s get into it.
On Real Madrid star Toni Kroos’s return from international retirement…
Toni is very important for us with his experience. You can always give him the ball and he doesn’t make any mistakes. He was very good against Scotland. There are statistics for everything. Toni is still one of the top 3 players in the world when it comes to finding teammates between the lines, creating chances and setting up goals. He will do that tomorrow too. It’s not easy to defend him. He always finds solutions, with small movements to find the free space. Hungary will have a plan to defend him better than the Scots, but Toni is clever enough to find solutions. He will have a big influence tomorrow.
On Germany fielding its oldest XI since 2000…
It’s important to have a mix of experienced and young, talented players. The atmosphere in our camp is excellent. The connections between the older and younger players are also good. We need more young players for the future, but not yet at this tournament.
On Hungary’s strength compared to Scotland…
I assessed Scotland to be at a similar level to Hungary. Now Hungary are perhaps under more pressure than us and they will have to play more offensively. Because a defeat could mean they are eliminated. It depends on the way we perform.
On managing Germany’s fitness levels throughout the tournament…
I’m not too worried about that. The gaps between games are good. Of course, the season was long and it’s still in the players’ legs, but its the same for our opponents. The workload management is different to that at clubs. The players are fit and made a good impression.
On Hungary’s qualities…
Hungary are a very good team in transition, they have two strikers who are strong in the air. [Liverpool forward Dominik] Szoboszlai is a big threat from set pieces. [RB Leipzig defender Willi] Orban has a very good timing with headers. We should prevent that. They have a clear attacking pattern. If we defend that well, we have a very good chance.
On balancing youth vs. experience in the Germany squad…
It’s important that the young, talented players are open and listen to the older players and want to benefit from their experience in order to improve. Not only on the pitch, but also off it. Many have experience in different situations, including pressure and the expectations of the fans. We have a good mix, the atmosphere is excellent, the connection between old and young players is good. We often play young against old, which is always a good fight. For this tournament, this is the perfect mix and we can be very successful.
Germany vs. Hungary kicks off on Wednesday, June 19th at 12PM Eastern time. Follow along right here at Bavarian Football Works, where we will feature a live blog as well as a matchday thread for discussion of all the day’s EURO 2024 action.
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