Nagelsmann's quick verdict: Emotions are lacking on the European Championship path
When researching the causes of his first defeat as national coach, Julian Nagelsmann was quick to make a judgment. His unusual and unfamiliar tactics? No. That wasn't the reason. The national soccer team lacked emotion, stated the noticeably dissatisfied DFB head coach.
"The tactics are secondary, it's always the emotion first. If you're at 100 percent, you can be much worse tactically. If the emotions aren't there, you have to be tactically brilliant in order to still be positive," said Nagelsmann after the sobering 3-2 defeat to Turkey in an emotionally charged Berlin Olympic Stadium.
A question of mentality?
Brilliant? It was precisely this attribution that Nagelsmann made to the player he had surprisingly put in a tactically new position. Kai Havertz, as a left-back. That sounded highly unusual, but the national coach gave the Arsenal attacker the best possible rating for his interpretation of the very forward-oriented track player: "world class".
That seemed very high on the praise shelf. But Havertz's understandable defensive shortcomings were not the cause of the defeat. "Individual players didn't have that 100 percent conviction, the will like their opponents," said Nagelsmann. A question of mentality? Seven months before the home European Championship. Of course, that doesn't allow any good conclusions to be drawn about basic character principles.
"We don't want to analyze it to death. We're not going to let it get us down now, it's our job to keep going," said Thomas Müller, who did not play. The veteran struck a chord with the national coach, who almost reacted angrily to the question of a possible relapse into the automatisms of the hapless era of his predecessor Hansi Flick.
Tough task in Vienna
"We can now start to paint everything black again and see everything in a bad light. We can do that, but we won't get anywhere as a soccer nation," said Nagelsmann. "I'm far from seeing everything in a negative light," he said. Of course, the goals from Havertz (5th minute) and Niclas Füllkrug (48th) were brilliantly played. But another three goals conceded took their tally for the year to 20 in ten games. Too many for title ambitions in 2024, especially as Nagelsmann had practiced defending all week.
Nagelsmann has practically no time to adjust things. An even more difficult task awaits on Tuesday with the clash with Austria in Vienna against the selection of tactics guru Ralf Rangnick. It is the last chance to get a positive push this year and shortly before the draw for the European Championship groups on December 2. "We're still in the phase where we need a sense of achievement," said Füllkrug.
"Despite the tactical brilliance displayed by Kai Havertz in his unconventional role, Nagelsmann noticed a lack of emotion among the entire national team, including star player Thomas Müller, who was not in the starting lineup,"
"With only seven months left until the European Championship at home, Nagelsmann and the team must address this issue of mentality and motivation to ensure a successful campaign and avoid repeating the mistakes of the past."
Source: www.dpa.com
