Germany produced a much better display against the French in Rudi Völler’s first game back as Bundestrainer following the sacking of Hansi Flick on Sunday. The 2-1 win in Dortmund will boost the confidence levels, but the all round increase in energy, aggression, and purpose will be even more pleasing to fans of the Nationalmannschaft.
An early Thomas Müller goal set the hosts on their way, but it took until the 87th minute for Leroy Sané’s goal to make things safe. A late penalty from Antoine Griezmann proved little more than a consolation as Germany recorded a much-needed win. Here are all the raw post-match reactions from the Signal Iduna Park…
Rudi Völler:
“It was a top performance in the first half hour. When you take the lead against such a great team, that’s the ideal case. Especially in the second half, we fought wonderfully, stood stable and didn’t allow much. The 2-0 was a liberation.”
Thomas Müller:
“It was clear that we had to do a lot of legwork. We knew we had to overcome work ethic. Compliments to Rudi Völler, Hannes Wolf and Sandro Wagner for how they tackled it in such a short time. We rewarded ourselves at the right moments, but there’s no need to overestimate it. We still have a long way to go, but it was an emotional release.”
Marc-André ter Stegen:
“It was balm for the soul – both for the fans and for us. We really went for it, I think people saw that. They were difficult days, but it’s even nicer that we were able to end them with a win. That was exactly what we needed.”
Benjamin Henrichs:
“The last few games weren’t good and weren’t what we wanted either. We wanted to release more energy. We played a good game and the fans got involved. It was really exciting to be on the pitch. We deserved to win. Not everything went right, but we fought until the end. We wanted. We’re also extremely happy for the fans that we’ve now been able to pay them something back.”
Jonathan Tah:
“We wanted to show a different face than in Wolfsburg. It was clear to us what was coming. It was important that we ignored everything outside and supported each other on the pitch. We largely managed that and that’s why we deserved to win.”
