The victory of the German national team in France also made sports show expert Bastian Schweinsteiger happy. His game analysis knows one winner above all.
Of course, Bastian Schweinsteiger also caught up with the new euphoria. The German national team’s 2-0 win against France on Saturday evening (March 23, 2024) in Lyon probably surprised the entire (football) nation and gave new hope to a successful European Championship.
The 39-year-old sports show expert went into raptures the next day. “It was nice to see that we managed to play at a high level for over 95 minutes,” said Schweinsteiger in an exclusive conversation with Sportschau – and almost seemed a little relieved.
“There have been moments in the past games where you played well for 45 minutes, but then didn’t play well for 30 minutes. And we didn’t have such fluctuations against France,” said Schweinsteiger.
Nagelsmann made the right decision
The test match against the French and the upcoming game against the Netherlands next Tuesday (March 26, 2024) was and is a good opportunity to dispel the bad mood around the DFB team and around three months before the start of the summer season. tournament to ignite a spirit of optimism that was hardly thought possible. “And now we just have to make sure that we can take this positive spirit with us. Of course it would be even nicer if we could win against the Netherlands,” said Schweinsteiger.
The sports show expert believes there are several reasons for this amazingly confident success against the runner-up world champion. On the one hand, the national coach’s selection of players is a crucial aspect. “Julian Nagelsmann thought about whether a bigger change was necessary after the games against Turkey or Austria. And I think he made the right decision to focus on performance now,” said Schweinsteiger.
Stability and calm
On the other hand, Nagelsmann used these players, such as full-back Maximilian Mittelstädt (“We need these types of players at the tournament.”) or playmaker Toni Kroos, who returned after his retirement, in exactly the positions in which they have their strengths, “there , where they are best.”
Schweinsteiger had special praise for his former teammate Kroos, with whom he won the World Cup in Brazil in 2014. “He played a very good game. He led the team. He showed his qualities again, especially with the ball. He had a presence on the pitch,” said the Sportschau expert. Above all, he gave the entire team “a certain stability and calm in certain situations.”
Netherlands a top team
However, Schweinsteiger also warns against believing that all of the problems of the previous months have suddenly been wiped away. “Of course you have to distinguish that France plays differently than our group opponents Hungary, Switzerland or Scotland,” said the former world-class player. Against these opponents, who will act much more defensively, many creative solutions are required, which were often lacking in the past. “This will be different.”
Now the main thing is to preserve the good feeling that the game left with the German team and the German football fans against the Netherlands, and at best even increase it. “I expect a team that will defend better as a team against the ball, against us, and I’m excited to see whether we’ll find our solutions again. In terms of quality, the Netherlands are already in the top five in Europe,” said Schweinsteiger.
