Julian Nagelsmann got off to the perfect start as Germany manager with a 3-1 win against the United States on Saturday. However, despite a positive first performance, there are still plenty of issues that the 36-year-old will be working on as he prepares his side for a home European Championships.
Regardless, one area that Nagelsmann does not have to contemplate is who his future captain will be. İlkay Gündoğan was named captain of the German national team under Hansi Flick, and after leading from the front by scoring the leveller against the USA, Nagelsmann has called for continuity in this department:
“Ilkay will remain captain. It is important that we have continuity and don’t constantly switch back and forth. We want continuity, I’m very happy with that. The performance principle applies to all players – including Joshua (Kimmich). If Josh is better than the others, he is seeded. If Pascal (Groß) is better, he is seeded. I want to have people on the field who pass better and increase the chance of winning.”
With just under eight months until EURO 2024 gets underway in Munich, Nagelsmann is quickly looking to find a winning formula that has been missing with the national team for some time. However, with Gündoğan leading the side, they have a serial winner at the heart of the team, and now Nagelsmann will look to build game by game continuing with Mexico on Wednesday:
“They play a little more straight compared to the USA. You try to get the ball behind the chain quickly. A very aggressive team with fans trying to push the team forward. There are different games that we have. But it’s ok like that. In the end we hope the result is similar.”
GGFN | Will Shopland
