Matthäus speaks on Nübel, Havertz, Füllkrug, Andrich, and Gündogan
The primary talking point as concerns the German national team following last night's 2-1 victory over Greece in Mönchengladbach remains the howler committed by German keeper Manuel Neuer. The 38-year-old net-minder took plenty of heat in both the German and international press following a serious error in last night's match.
British, Spanish, Austrian, Swiss, and French sources all noted Neuer's mistake in their post-match commentary. So too did Germany's preeminent footballing publication, Kicker Magazine. German journalist Sebastian Wolff accused Bundestrainer Julian Nagelsmann of ignoring "performance-related principles".
German footballing legend Lothar Matthäus - still the most capped senior German international in the country's history - noted that Neuer seemed "insecure" for both club and country in his post-match remarks on German broadcaster RTL last night. The 63-year-old also spoke on a variety of other topics pertinent to the German Nationalmannschaft one week ahead of Germany's opening group stage fixture.
On newcomers Maximilian Beier and Robin Koch:
"It's positive for them to have been invited at all. Beier came in and made his mark straight away. You can see that we don't have to be afraid of the future as we have others apart from Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala."
On Alexander Nübel's exclusion from the final squad:
"It would have made a great deal of sense to bring in a young goalkeeper. I think VfB Stuttgart has benefited greatly from his performances. At the age of 27, he is also the only younger goalkeeper who will be needed in the future."
"I think Julian Nagelsmann offered up a good explanation as to why he needed four keepers. One doesn't need 25 outfielders to become European champions. That's why I was surprised by the decision. After all, Nübel doesn't have a bad relationship with Neuer."
On the defensive midfield lineup:
"There's nothing wrong with Robert Andrich and Kroos. They can complement each other well, just like Andrich and Granit Xhaka at Leverkusen. Andrich can cover Kroos' back. He [Kroos] is a passing machine, his balls are always razor-sharp."
On the striker situation:
"I think Kai Havertz is a better fit for the team because Germany are more about coming up with ideas in attack. We'll be facing three rather defensive teams in the group stage, but we should still impose our game on them.
"Füllkrug will nevertheless be a very important player when long balls are played to him. It's certainly not a disadvantage to have these two options."
On Ilkay Gündogan's unimpressive play:
[Gündogan himself has admitted that he doesn't feel entitled to start]
"He shouldn't be given carte blanche because he has the [captain's] armband. Toni Kroos could be given the armband. Or you could stand by Gündogan and let him start in every game. Recently, however, he's always been substituted after an hour or so."
"That's not really captain-like. You can see from that that Nagelsmann doesn't trust him to play the whole 90 minutes, even if he is - of course - a huge player. Hansi Flick made him captain, not Nagelsmann. Maybe he doesn't want to cause any unrest now."
"Then there could be an agreement that Gündogan will keep his head down when he's not playing. But in the past, the captain was always untouchable. That's different now."