Nagelsmann reacts to Germany's wild 3-3 draw with Italy
| Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images |
In a game of two halves, Germany drew 3-3 with Italy on Sunday to progress to the UEFA Nations League semi-finals 5-4 on aggregate.
Julian Nagelsmann's side were 3-0 up at the break, but things got exciting towards the end as Italy pulled three goals back in the second half.
"I think it was fun. I always want our football to be entertaining," said Nagelsmann in a post-match interview.
"The first half was very entertaining. It was also very interesting in the second half, just a bit too exciting at the end.
"We're a country of complainers, but we can be proud of the unity between the fans and the team. The team is giving everything. This is perhaps the most important development in recent years," the Germany coach added.
He described the first half as "very impressive" and the best Germany have played during his tenure. On what went wrong in the second half, he explained:
“The big difference was that in the second half we played almost exclusively backwards and almost exclusively through the middle. It wasn't just the poor pass before the first goal. It was too much freestyle. When you lose the structure, the wrong pass hurts even more. If it's 3-0 for a long time, the opponent surrenders. That's how the momentum shifts,” said Nagelsmann.
Next up for Germany is the semi-final against Portugal in June.
