Germany vs. Hungary – Football Match Preview – 07.09.2024

September 6 (Reuters) – The German national team wants to ignore pessimism and build positive momentum for the 2026 World Cup, coach Julian Nagelsmann said ahead of Saturday's Nations League match against Hungary.

The 2024 European Championship hosts' dream of a summer fairytale was shattered after a 2-1 quarter-final defeat to eventual champions Spain, and Manuel Neuer, Toni Kroos, Ilkay Gündogan and Thomas Müller retired from active service after the tournament.

Germany finished the tournament with one loss in five games, winning 2-0 against Hungary in the group stage and Nagelsmann said it was time to bring back the positive energy of the Euros.

“The first game after the European Championship is important to keep the momentum going,” said the 37-year-old coach.

“We deliberately did not do anything new in training. We have very little time to train and want to consolidate what we did in the tournament. We want to see the enthusiasm of the European Championship again.”

After the elimination against Spain, German fans were left with muted enthusiasm for about two weeks. However, Nagelsmann said after the defeat that his goal was to win the World Cup.

He reiterated that he would stick to his goal despite criticism from the German media for putting pressure on the players.

“It's good that we set ourselves such high goals. I cannot understand some of the statements made by experts here,” added Nagelsmann.

“When a coach says he wants to become world champion and is criticised for it, I think it's crazy. I would like to read the headlines if I had said I didn't want to become world champion.”

Nagelsmann added that the Germans could learn from Spain in the run-up to the Nations League, which also won the Olympic Games after the European Championship: “Spain first won the Nations League and then became European champions.”

When asked about the new and somewhat unknown faces in the starting eleven, in which many regular players were missing, Nagelsmann said that his team would not emulate their predecessors, but would bring their own talents with them.

“This team knows each other well, even though some new players have joined. Pascal Gross will play (tomorrow), but he will not take on Kroos' role, but Pascal's.”

“Fulle (Niclas Fullkrug) will play for Ilkay (tomorrow), with a slightly different formation. He doesn't have to play like him either. Everyone can do what they're good at.”

(Reporting by Shifa Jahan in Bengaluru, Editing by Pritha Sarkar)