Former Bayern Munich manager and current German national team boss Julian Nagelsmann once again found himself getting emotional about his team’s journey in the EURO 2024 tournament at the “day after” press conference.
Germany lost 2-1 to Spain on Friday and it was not any easier on Saturday after the crushing defeat.
“I’m fighting back tears because it was very emotional. I’ve always said that we need the fans in the country behind us. From March onwards, it was clear that the fans felt something. We made decisions that not everyone would have made, people felt that we wanted to change things. When we see the videos of fans, it’s emotional. We would have liked to have given the fans even more,m” Nagelsmann said (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “I will miss the people we have worked with over the past few weeks. I will miss the emotional moments. We experienced all the peaks, both positive and negative. From sadness and emptiness to joy in the 89th minute, everything was there. I will miss the entire staff and the team, all these great characters. I never had the feeling that I had to replace someone because they were endangering the atmosphere in the group. That was very unusual. That’s what I will miss the most.
“The bitter thing is that we now have to wait two years before we can try again at a major tournament. But in general, the job is very fulfilling. I’m very happy that I’ve extended my stay here.”
When asked if he made mistakes with his starting XI, Nagelsmann said that things did not go as planned with Emre Can and Leroy Sané, but also that it was not their fault for the defeat.
“It’s always easy to judge in retrospect. We had hoped for something different, but everyone gave it their all. It wasn’t Can and Sané’s fault that we were eliminated. In the end, we had to make decisions at half-time and change things,” Nagelsmann remarked.
Obviously, the question of the now-infamous non-call of a handball on Spain has dominated discussion. Nagelsmann treaded lightly with his response.
“Some players have asked the referee. I don’t know if it was offside. I have different information as to why VAR didn’t review it. It’s not really clear. I wish that referees would look at some situations more to make themselves less vulnerable. I already said yesterday what I would like to change. We won’t get a replay anyway, so we move on,” Nagelsmann remarked.
After a spell of time away, Nagelsmann will start planning to compete in the Nations League.
“The Nations League is a tournament that can be won. We should approach it differently than any friendly match. We have the important World Cup qualifiers ahead of us in 2025 and then the World Cup in 2026. We have big goals there. We want to use the Nations League to develop ourselves further,” said the head coach.
When asked about future player selections, Nagelsmann said he will continue to rely on “fit” rather than just “talent.”
“I have never played at this level. That’s why people like Sandro Wagner are important. He knows how players feel in certain situations. I would like to mention Robin Koch, who didn’t play a single minute. He didn’t deserve that, but he behaved in an absolutely exemplary way. That’s what carries the group,” said Nagelsmann.
One player, who will not be there to help the Germans moving forward is Toni Kroos — and Nagelsmann knows it will not be easy to replace the former Real Madrid star.
“Replacing him one-to-one and with the same quality will be difficult. With Pavlo (Aleksandar Pavlović) or Angelo Stiller we have two players who can replace him in terms of playing style. There’s also Pascal Groß, who is already 33. From our perspective, we will succeed in finding solutions,” said Nagelsmann.
Nagelsmann also noted that he did not receive any signals as of yet on whether or not 33-year-old captain İlkay Gündoğan would return to the team either.
Looking for more thoughts and analysis of Germany’s crushing 2-1 loss to Spain? We have you covered with our Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show. We have takes on Julian Nagelsmann’s controversial starting XI, a rundown of the scoring and substitutions, and ideas on how this all fell apart in front of an absolutely electric crowd. You can get the podcast on Spotify or below: