Germany’s Euro team ‘need the fans’, Gundogan said after the friendly in Greece
Home support will be crucial for Germany when the three-time European champions kick off their Uefa Euro 2024 campaign against Scotland on Friday, midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has said.
Pascal Gross’s blistering strike saw the host nation beat Greece 2-1 in Monchengladbach on Friday, with Die Mannschaft fans displaying banners expressing their expectation that their side would win the tournament only to see them fall behind their 34th-placed rivals. .
“It was a test,” said Barcelona’s Gundogan. “We were careless in the first half and were punished for that. The Greeks did well in the first half, but that is not our bench.
“It was important for us to show that we have the ability to respond. We need the support of the fans; that will give us momentum.
“We are starting the European Championship with a good feeling, but there is no team we can beat 4-0 or 5-0. We still have a week, our nerves are sharp and we want to continue the momentum.”
Germany’s Euro team ‘knows roles’
Germany’s form has been poor since Julian Nagelsmann took over in September 2023, although they beat France and the Netherlands in March before being held 0-0 at home to Ukraine on Monday.
“We knew we weren’t as good as we expected to be in March,” said midfielder Toni Kroos, reviewing their final friendly before the start of the finals.
“We made a lot of mistakes in the first half – technical mistakes – we played sloppily and we faced attacks. Everyone knows their role. They are clearly distributed in the team and that will help us.”
Goals 🇩🇪#EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/qJWgUZZUm0
– UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) June 8, 2024
Germany v Greece: Nagelsmann is satisfied
Giorgos Masouras put the visitors ahead in the 33rd minute before Kai Havertz’s 55th-minute equalizer brought Germany level and Gross finished well a minute from time.
They have not won this tournament since 1996 but they are expected to finish top of Group A, and face Hungary on June 19 and Switzerland four days later.
“The second half was much better compared to the first,” said Nagelsmann. “For the first time in a long time, we lost the ball easily in the first half, we played too little and played too much in the middle.
“I said that well during the break. We needed to be more polished in everything we do to win this game. In the second half, we played both wings to open space in the middle.”
