The unpleasant first: This is what the spokeswoman for the German Football Association intended when she asked Thomas Müller about his memories of 2018 at the beginning of the press conference. Specifically, it was about the last meeting between the German and Mexican national soccer teams, the 0-1 loss at the start of the World Cup in Russia and, as Müller said, the “start of a period that we look back on very negatively.” But he would rather focus his thoughts on “continuing what we started on Saturday.”
Should Müller play this Tuesday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia (Wednesday morning 2 a.m. German time, in the FAZ live ticker for the national soccer team and on ARD), one of the World Cup stadiums for 2026, it would be his 125th international match. But there is no guarantee that this will happen, at least when it comes to deployment right from the start. Julian Nagelsmann announced that he would change his team “in nuances” compared to the 3-1 win against the United States. It sounded completely different on Saturday in Hartford. But now Nagelsmann represented the sporting principle that a successful team should not be disturbed, at least not unduly.
Nagelsmann did not say what specific change this could mean. But it would be easy to imagine changes to the defensive wing positions, because at least the way he praised Niklas Süle (and Jonathan Tah played), hardly anything could get past him. “It’s crazy, he played like a tenner,” said the national coach about Süle’s performance in the eleven-on-eleven training game, praised his overall footballing qualities and even went so far as to make his “wish” to Süle’s Dortmund coach Edin Terzic that Süle is playing more there again – combined with a request to Süle himself to do his utmost to achieve this: “Because we need him here.”
On the left side of defense, David would offer space for Robin Gosens. And otherwise? It will be a bit difficult because the midfield center and the offensive positions against the USA worked to Nagelsmann’s satisfaction. Müller might then be the most likely to come into play, from whom Nagelsmann saw “three world-class actions” in the last ten minutes in Hartford.
Gündogan remains captain
Müller was asked by a Mexican reporter what had changed in the German team compared to five years ago. “A lot,” he replied, “the players, our style of play, it’s no longer so easy for the opposing staff to decipher us.” This could and should be understood in two ways. On the one hand, in Moscow in 2018, the then Mexican coach chatted with pleasure about how long he had known how the Germans would be beaten under Joachim Löw. On the other hand, the performances of the DFB selection have been very different across national coaches in the recent past.
Coach Nagelsmann: Flannel shirt for a good cause: Image: AFP
Nagelsmann now wants to focus on continuity rather than a specific reorientation towards the next opponent, even if they will have “somewhat different characteristics” than the Americans. “We want to see certain things and couples continue to work and consolidate,” said the national coach. He expects a “very aggressive team” that will look for the way to the goal pretty directly – and there will be a lot of atmosphere, around 55,000 spectators are expected, the vast majority certainly passionately on Mexico’s side.
The further questions to Nagelsmann were a pretty colorful mix. One of the more sportingly relevant topics was the confirmation that Ilkay Gündogan would also be his captain at the European Championships, while the less relevant one was that his flannel overshirt, with which he had attracted a certain amount of attention at his premiere, would be auctioned off for a good cause. When it came to the new outfit for the Mexico game, Nagelsmann kept a low profile.
Borrows from the Rocky mentality
Part of the German team got in the mood for the game on Monday with a visit to the famous Rocky Stairs, the 72 stone steps that have become film history and lead to the entrance to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Müller and Nagelsmann were not there, the national coach because he needed the time to talk to the players, but apart from that he showed himself to be an expert on the film material when he explained that the character Rocky was a mixture of different characters; He was able to get used to the Rocky mentality. Müller, on the other hand, had stayed in the quarters because he had worked so hard during substitute training to recommend himself to the team that he needed a break.
There is no doubt about Müller’s drive, even in his 35th year, and so it seemed a bit unfair that he had to talk so much about disappointments. In addition to the disgrace of 2018, there was also that of 2023, in which Müller once again delivered an original version of his announced resignation after the World Cup in Qatar. He wanted to use the last sentence in that television interview to say goodbye as a sort of prophylactic. Basically, he takes the position that you shouldn’t resign from the national team, but he didn’t know what was coming.
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As is well known, it happened that first Hansi Flick relied on Müller’s services again and now Nagelsmann too. “I wasn’t there at first, now I’m back,” he said succinctly. And the way the national coach sounded on Monday, he would like it to stay that way for a little longer. Nagelsmann said he didn’t want to talk about 2018. His team should use the opportunity to “write a new story,” he said – and Müller, when asked in a year’s time what it was like against Mexico in 2023, will remember exactly that remember.
