Strong debut for Germany: Nagelsmann: “We’re not here to boo La Paloma either”

Whether it’s sporting director Rudi Föller, Lothar Matthaus or the new coach himself, Julian Nagelsmann’s debut for the German national team leaves you wanting more. Reactions after beating the United States 3-1.

Lothar Matthaus was pleased with Julian Nagelsmann’s successful debut as national coach of the German national team. “There was a lot of flow in the game, a lot of joy, a lot of cohesion – that’s what makes playing football fun,” the record-breaking national player said after Saturday’s 3-1 friendly win in Hartford over hosts USA on television. RTL Channel: “The result clearly reflects the course of the match.”

The former Germany captain was particularly happy that the national team was not bothered by the 0-1 loss caused by former Dortmund player Christian Pulisic (28th minute). “Despite all this, you can see that the team is working, the team is prepared, there is fun in the match, there is movement in attack. And so the team overcame this deficit with confidence.

Matthaus also praised the returning Mats Hummels, who returned to international action after more than two years, with a “good performance”. The Borussia Dortmund defender “twice had problems with pace”, but otherwise “showed good positional play at the back and repeatedly tried to stimulate the play from the back”.

Hummels ‘more nervous’

Hummels describes his return as a “very special moment.” Meanwhile, the Dortmund player admitted: “I have to say, surprisingly, I was more nervous than I expected. There was some added tension. It was so much fun. Anthem before the game, but also being on the field during the game.

The centre-back, who played his last international match in June 2021 in the European Championship’s round of 16 exit to England, impressed with his opening game and header ability before being substituted in the 62nd minute.

“It makes you want more,” said sporting director Rudi Völler, who began the change of mood in Germany last month as interim team boss after a 2-1 win over world champions France, and was now watching happily in the stands again.

“At some point we will start recording the first 15.”

New coach Nagelsmann himself said after his debut: “We deserved to win. We were very good at football. But what I liked most was that we stayed calm after losing 0-1, we didn’t get nervous, we didn’t collapse.”

Naturally, the 36-year-old did not find his team in the tournament for the summer of 2024 immediately, even if a number of key players managed to score points. The core team is more inclusive of the coach anyway. “At some point we will start registering the first 15. There will not be a first 11 because we need more than 11 players for the European Championship.”

Nagelsmann announced changes for the upcoming match against Mexico as he wants to see “almost all the players” in the squad in the match. Asked about potential free time for his players before Tuesday’s test match (local time), Nagelsmann joked: “We’re not there to blow the whistle on La Paloma either. Now we’ve won the game. It would be really good if we win the second title as well.”