Nagelsmann: “It was an 'ugly' win”

Germany secured their third successive win in the World Cup qualifiers thanks to Nick Woltemade’s first-half strike in Northern Ireland. The Bundestrainer Julian Nagelsmann reflected his honest opinion on the game in the post-match interview.

"It definitely wasn't our best game,” said the 38-year-old coach. “The stadium was extremely emotional. There were lots of fights to keep possession, and that even made it tough for the referee to notice all the little details. In the end, a set-piece play decided the game.

“We practice set-pieces a lot, because of its importance. All in all, it's difficult to play a nice game when the ball is in the air a lot. You have to fight and go for the duels. It was an 'ugly' win, but the most important thing is the three points."

Oliver Baumann had a quiet first-half in Germany’s goal, but he made some decent saves after the restart. Nagelsmann addressed the recent noise on who’ll be Germany’s starting goalkeeper for the World Cup.

“Since Manu (Neuer) retired, we haven't lost a game because of a goalkeeping mistake,” said the former Bayern Munich coach. “He is playing a very good season for Bayern, but we don't have a goalkeeping problem. This discussion does not help anyone, neither our goalkeepers nor Manu himself, who is focused on Bayern.”