Houston [US], June 15 (ANI): Following his side’s thumping win over Curacao, Germany’s coach Julian Nagelsmann said that while the debutant’s equaliser goal was unexpected. He said that his side played with the right intensity, and there are things where they can still improve with many tough opponents yet to come.
On their World Cup debut match, Curacao had their slice of World Cup history sealed with a goal in the 21st minute from Livano Comenencia, but soon, the class and big-match skill of four-time champions took over, with Kai Havertz and Deniz Udav leading from the front in a massive 7-1 win at Houston.
Following the match, Julian said, as quoted by Reuters, “It was a great start to the game, the first 15 minutes were fantastic. We had many attempts. The equalising goal from Curacao was unexpected, but it was fascinating to see how the team reacted to it.”
“Curacao played better than many people in Germany expected, and they played differently than they had before and with courage. It is not easy to score seven goals, so we are quite satisfied. We are on the right path, but there are things we can do better, and we will have tougher opponents in the tournament,” he added.
While the coach said that his side had to be patient during the first half, he was really happy with the relentless intensity shown during the second half, noting that they would need the same to add a fifth star on their shirt.
“One team (Germany) has very high expectations and one (Curacao) does not, and that is tricky. At 1-1, we had to be patient, and the team really wants to give 100 per cent. We played with the right intensity. If we do that, we can have a good tournament,” he said.
“We really needed this convincing win and the confidence it will give us. That confidence was always there, but it has grown. It was important to show the people in Germany that we can perform,” he added.
On a concluding note, Julian pointed out how fans were singing a song called ‘the train has no brakes’ for the side and vowed to “keep going and going in this tournament.”
Germany’s next challenge will be the Ivory Coast in Toronto on Saturday. (ANI)
(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)