Agency Report –
Germany’s dream of celebrating a first title since 2017 on home soil came to an end on Wednesday evening as they were defeated 2-1 by Portugal in Munich in the Nations League semi-finals.
The 2017 Confederations Cup will remain for now their most recent title after a game in which the national team lacked in many aspects.
“We didn’t manage to bring our energy to the pitch. You couldn’t see that we have a winning mentality, that we have a certain greed, that we wanted to be in the final,” captain Joshua Kimmich said.
The match marked their first defeat since the Euro 2024 quarter-finals against eventual champions Spain.
Kimmich said that “bitter” was the wrong word to describe the game, because “it was a well-deserved defeat.”
“That was one of our worst games. It was well-deserved defeat. We weren’t good enough with and without the ball. After going 1-0 up, we showed nothing at all.”
“We have to understand that, when we don’t give 100%, we can’t go up against a top team. Every player has to reach their limit,” he said.
Coach Julian Nagelsmann also spoke of “a great disappointment” and shared Kimmich’s thoughts.
According to the coach, the team captain also said “some true words” to the team in their dressing room.
“We are deservedly out of the final. We have to give 100%, that’s how we can face the top teams. We didn’t have the sharpness we’ve shown in recent games,” Nagelsmann said.
“In the end, it’s hard but deserved we didn’t go to the final,” he added.
Germany will now face the loser of Thursday’s clash between Spain and France in the match for third place.
Despite the disappointment, Nagelsmann stressed that setbacks are part of the journey.
“It’s a setback when you lose a game, but it’s also normal when you develop as a group that there will be some setbacks. It’s a normal part of the journey. The important topic is that you learn something out of the game and out of the loss. If we do that, it will be a good step for us.”
By Klaus Bergmann and Christian Kunz
