When Germany coach Juergen Klopp walked off the pitch in Thessaloniki just before midnight on Sunday he knew that one win in his first four international matches in charge was hardly living up to the euphoria of his appointment, but he has noted that progress had been made since their disappointing World Cup exit.
Germany fans had been hoping for an immediate impact when the hugely popular former Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund coach took over in July following another early World Cup elimination.
Apart from a 2-0 win over Serbia last week, however, results have been disappointing with a home defeat by Greece before Sunday’s 0-0 draw and a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands in Group A2.
“Overall, it was evident that many aspects of their game
weren’t quite clicking yet,” said Germany’s 1990 World
Cup-winning captain Lothar Matthaeus. “It was clear that the
young players thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Unfortunately,
the points we got were not at that level. We cannot be satisfied
with the points haul.”
Germany are third on five points, with the Dutch and Greece
top on eight. The Germans did, however, look more aggressive
than in recent years, playing at times Klopp’s trademark high
tempo attacking game.
“I am very satisfied because I know where we’ve come from,”
Klopp said following Sunday’s game, the last of the set of four
internationals this month.
“I wouldn’t have believed we could play a first half like
that after just one week. The lads put in a top-notch
performance; their movement and positioning were outstanding.”
The 59-year-old had raised eyebrows and earned widespread
praise when he named 44 players for the four matches — all
Nations League games — with two separate squads of 22 players
for two matches each.
He called up 16 newcomers as he sets out to restore the
four-times world champions international reputation.
“I am very impressed with the team and the way we went about
it. Everyone stepped up over the past two weeks and justified
their selection,” Klopp said. “When we defend collectively like
that, the lads can really play football.”
Defender Philipp Treu and winger Derry Scherhant were among
those newcomers who made strong debuts.
Germany, under Klopp’s predecessor Julian Nagelsmann,
suffered a shock round-of-32 loss to Paraguay at the World Cup
in June, their third early exit following first-round
eliminations in 2018 and 2022. The Germans last won the World
Cup in 2014.
Klopp knows that wins must start coming more frequently when
they travel to Serbia on November 13 and host the Dutch three
days later if they are to stay in contention for a top-two
finish.
Source: Khaleej Times