It was difficult to say how great the extent of the upset was. The fact that, as could be read in the German media, “the whole of Northern Ireland was angry with Julian Nagelsmann” seemed a bit exaggerated. The national coach’s statements after the 3-1 win in the first leg that Northern Ireland played so many long balls, which was “not nice to see” but “very effective”, were a topic of discussion, albeit also in the days before the reunion.
The Northern Irish coach, Michael O’Neill, didn’t want to talk about disrespect, but he was quoted by the BBC as dryly saying that it wasn’t his job to let his team play the way the opponents liked. And that Germany also operates with long balls. The first punchline before the second leg this Monday (8.45 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for World Cup qualification and on RTL) went to the Northern Irish.
When Julian Nagelsmann entered the press podium at Windsor Park on Sunday evening, it initially seemed as if he wanted to get through his game. He repeated the reference to the long balls almost word for word. However, it quickly became apparent that Nagelsmann was interested in a different interpretation.
A compliment to how Northern Ireland creates a lot of “stress” with comparatively simple means: when after the long hit behind the chain, there are many Northern Irish people fighting “for the second, third or even fourth ball” in the final third. “Long balls with an idea,” Nagelsmann called it. And added how important it would be to defend them well.
It was fitting that Nico Schlotterbeck sat on the podium next to the national coach. It’s not just the national coach who has high hopes for the Dortmund player, who was out injured for months. Nagelsmann made it sound on Sunday as if Schlotterbeck and Jonathan Tah were his confidants in central defense for the time being. “Schlotti knows how much I have in him, and Jonathan has stabilized really well at Bayern,” said Nagelsmann, adding that everyone else is “invited to put the two of them under pressure.”
Schlotterbeck himself said he had “rarely been so fit and so well trained”. There was another reason for the fact that he exuded a lot of anticipation for the game in addition to his drive: the atmosphere in Windsor Park. According to Nagelsmann, it was an issue in the team that the Northern Irish had been unbeaten in their home stadium – their “fortress”, as he said – for almost two years. What happened to the Germans last Friday: Because O’Neill’s team also won against Slovakia, Germany goes into this duel as league leaders, level on points with Northern Ireland and Slovakia.
Nagelsmann didn’t want to look too closely at the table, but it was an “important game”. According to the national coach, we are “not quite through yet” with a win, but another success would mean a “good starting position” in the race for group victory and thus the path towards the World Cup next year. Nagelsmann may want to approach the game in the same formation as against Luxembourg, but the coaching team only wants to examine one position – the national coach did not reveal which one.
He wanted this to be understood as praise for the recent performance, even if – to put it undiplomatically – against the ten Luxembourgers it was still a long way from being a footballing role model. This time, it’s possible that simple means will be important in your own game: quickly freeing yourself from the pressure and looking for a direct route to the goal – everything else, i.e. nice football, only comes afterwards.
It all sounded like a highly emotional evening of football. He knew what was coming for the team, it would be “very tight, very loud,” said Nagelsmann. “Emotion comes from the stands, but I believe that as a team we can and will play emotion back.” If anyone found his comments disrespectful, he apologized, Nagelsmann said in English in response to a question from a Northern Irish reporter.
The fact that it might be a little louder than usual – but he made sure of that himself.
