The 57-year-old will have noted with satisfaction that the competition in his 26-man squad is paying off for the four Nations League games. Goalscorer Jonas Hofmann and Ilkay Gündogan clearly use their chance in the starting eleven, Jamal Musiala received loud applause from the fans after a little more than an hour because of his rousing style of play when he was substituted. David Raum switched on the turbo on the left flank.
“We don’t need to talk ourselves into negative things, but we also don’t need to get too exuberant,” said Müller. “We feel good and we feel and feel the talent in the team. We also feel ready to play other very good teams. That was confirmation today.”
This Saturday (8.45 p.m. / RTL) the game in Budapest against Hungary is on the program. Three days later, the DFB selection plays again against European champions Italy in Mönchengladbach. “We’re not at our peak yet,” said Müller. “For that you need results and more goals.”
After Hofmann’s goal in the 51st minute, the DFB team came under too much pressure in the closing stages. The very committed, but also sometimes unfortunate acting Nico Schlotterbeck was responsible for the penalty. The new Dortmunder played in place of Niklas Süle alongside Antonio Rüdiger, who has become a fixture in the Flick system. The national coach seems to be building his World Cup system around the defensive giants, captain Manuel Neuer in goal, Joshua Kimmich and Müller.
“I liked how we play football. We played there, sometimes,” said Flick. “We had chances, but in the end it didn’t help. We have to work on that.”