Starting eleven “within the realm of possibility”
©IMAGO
Germany qualified for the knockout rounds of the World Cup after a 2-1 win against Ivory Coast and is now group winner after Ecuador’s 0-0 draw against soccer dwarf Curaçao. National coach Julian Nagelsmann particularly praised his team’s mentality, which celebrated victory thanks to two goals from joker Deniz Undav. However, Nico Schlotterbeck’s injury was a concern.
“We dealt with setbacks well. We got better and better in the second half. I’m very proud of the players who came in,” said the national coach, who brought momentum into the game with a triple substitution. “Both wanted to win, we maybe a bit more than the opponent. We don’t need to talk about being world class. Three weeks ago everything was in ruins.”
The focus was on attacker Undav, who turned the game around with his two goals. “How do I do it? I have no idea. I stand correctly, try to bring my self-confidence onto the pitch. I know that I can score in every game. There are no nerves, it’s just a football game,” said the VfB Stuttgart attacker, who already contributed three scorers against Curaçao and now has the most in the tournament. “The team makes it easy for me to just step on the gas. We’re on the right track, but every opponent is difficult. Now we just want to take the flow with us, take the positivity with us and win the next game.” Undav has five scorers in 56 minutes.
Will Undav be allowed to start in the next game? “We have a common goal and if it works as well as I said, it’s up to the national coach,” said the Stuttgart player. “He makes the decisions and I think it’s just important for him and also for the players who come off the bench and those who play that they see, okay, that everyone who comes in can make an impact, can change the game.” Nagelsmann explained after the game that Undav’s starting eleven against Ecuador was “absolutely within the realm of possibility”. “He’s just a thoroughbred striker. He scores two great goals.”
Another joker who shone with the assist to make it 1-1 was Nadiem Amiri. The 29-year-old midfielder celebrated his World Cup debut in Toronto and shone as an assist eight minutes after coming on as a substitute. “My mother’s side lives in Toronto. I said before the World Cup that the game here was a very special game for me. I had to organize 25 cards, which is a lot. To make my World Cup debut here with the assist to make it 1-1 and turn the game around like that is really perfect,” said the Mainz player. “How we came back. Germany hasn’t had this for a long time, such team cohesion that we push ourselves to the limit and turn the game around. We can all be proud of ourselves. We knew if we believed in ourselves and trusted ourselves that we could win the game. Deniz is an absolute killer in front of the goal, he doesn’t need many chances.”
Great concern for DFB defender Schlotterbeck
The euphoria surrounding the victory clouds the possible exit from the World Cup for defense chief Schlotterbeck. The defender sustained the injury after just under a quarter of an hour when he kicked himself in the left leg in a duel. In the press conference, Nagelsmann praised the Dortmund player for his subsequent effort, “how he pushed through until the break,” said the 38-year-old. “He has something in his medial ligament, I don’t know what yet. He has to go to the MRI tomorrow, unfortunately it doesn’t look that good.” Only then can further conclusions be drawn about possible downtime. The DFB team will play the final group game against Ecuador next Thursday in East Rutherford.