Julian Nagelsmann issues defiant statement on Germany job after unwanted record

Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann insists he is not concerned about his job security as he goes into Sunday’s World Cup qualifier against Northern Ireland on the back of three straight defeats. After the disappointment of losing to both Portugal and France in the Nations League in June, Germany lost their first ever World Cup qualifier away from home when their Group A campaign began with a surprise 2-0 reverse to Slovakia in Bratislava on Thursday.

That has left Nagelsmann under pressure going into Sunday’s game in Cologne as criticism in the German media hots up.

“To be frightened is never a good point,” Nagelsmann said in a press conference on Saturday. “I am still brave enough and I want to win every game. We will try to do our best tomorrow as well. The team is important, not me. I think we will do a better job than on Thursday.”

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Despite recent results, Germany remain strong favourites against Michael O’Neill’s side, who are ranked some 62 places below their opponents at 71st in the world. However, Nagelsmann admits O’Neill’s men have the weapons to cause his side problems through their direct approach.

“The Northern Ireland team has a clear plan,” he said. “They play a lot of long balls and are very good in attacking second balls. When they win the second ball, they play a really quick, deep pass behind the defence.

“They try to get as close to the opponents’ goal to score and they have strong set-pieces. That is the most important topic, to avoid those set-pieces and also avoid space behind our defence.

“It is not that easy because there are many players in the Northern Ireland team who are used to playing long balls and attacking on the second one. We have a lot of players who are not so used to this way of playing soccer.

“We will try to find the best players for this case tomorrow. We try to be the best competitor possible. We try to win our home game. It is very important for us, for the fans in the stands and also for the qualification for the World Cup, it’s a very important game for us.”

Nagelsmann’s squad includes two players that made big-money moves to the Premier League this summer in Liverpool’s £116million midfielder Florian Wirtz and Newcastle ’s £65million record signing Nick Woltemade.

“For the Bundesliga it’s not perfect when the best young players move to England, but it’s like that at this moment in time,” Nagelsmann said when asked about the deals.

“For me as the national team coach what’s most important is that they play a lot of minutes and get some good games during the season so they are confident enough to play a role in the national team.

“Florian is always one of our most important players. He was in the past, now and will be in the future. Nick is a new player for us. He did well for the under-21s and now he has to prove his level and be an important player for the future.”

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