Former Bayern Munich manager and current German national team boss Julian Nagelsmann is not expecting an easy go of things against Switzerland.
“They are a very good opponent, certainly the strongest in the group. In terms of individual player quality, I consider Switzerland to be the strongest opponent. We are up to the challenge and we want to win the third group game as well,” said Nagelsmann (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “You play the games to win. It will be the same tomorrow. We cannot influence who our opponent will be in the knockout round. We want to keep the rhythm. It doesn’t matter who the next opponent will be.”
“As of now there won’t be any. It’s important that we maintain the rhythm. I don’t take the yellow card situation into account because I trust the squad. If I were a player and only played because someone was being spared due yellow cards, I would find that disrespectful. My belief is that we should throw everything into it. And if someone is suspended for a yellow card, we have a good squad to be able to replace them.”
One player who Nagelsmann will be counting on once more is İlkay Gündoğan.
“I count him as part of the spine that we have from front to back. He has players next to him who take more risks. I think that’s his best position. Even in the year of the Champions League victory with City, he always played very high up the pitch. He has a big impact there,’ said Nagelsmann.
As for Bayern Munich star Leroy Sané, Nagelsmann is still trying to bring him along slowly.
“He’s worried that it [the injury] will come back again. He didn’t train for almost five weeks at the end of the season. It just takes time for him to get back into the rhythm. I’ll give him the time. He just has to be a bit patient at the moment. That’s not a problem for him. He’s a pleasant character who doesn’t get upset. But of course he doesn’t like being substituted,” Nagelsmann said with a laugh.
Finally, one player for Switzerland familiar to a lot of the German national team will be Granit Xhaka, who has played in the Premier League and Bundesliga.
“He played a very good season. He’s extremely important for Leverkusen – including in the dressing room. They scored maybe 20 goals in the last few minutes. I heard he played a big part in that. He’s very important for Switzerland as well. He has a good approach and a good charisma,” Nagelsmann remarked.
Looking for a preview of Germany’s final group stage match against Switzerland? Then Bavarian Podcast Works has you covered with our Preview Show. You can get our takes on the big game on Spotify or below: