Northern Ireland 0-2 Germany: Post-match reactions
Goals from Marcel Halstenberg and Serge Gnabry secured Germany a 2-0 win over Northern Ireland in Belfast. Here are the post-match reactions.
| Marcel Halstenberg volleyed home his first goal for Germany tonight. | Photo: Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0 |
"We were under pressure today and to overcome a few problems at first. We didn't start off well."
"Northern Ireland were brave and did well to put us under pressure. We talked about a few things at half-time, and it was better after the break."
"The goal brought peace and was scored exactly at the right time. We should have scored the second one earlier. We can't hand over control in a game like this. But we're in a learning phase."
Marco Reus:
"It was difficult in the first half. Northern Ireland had some big chances. It was much better after the break."
"Our opponents attacked us extremely hard in the first half. Therefore, we couldn't really make it work. That had something to do with movement - and we managed to do better after the break."
Marcel Halstenberg:
"It was a tough game. They put pressure on us for 90 minutes. It wasn't easy here with the crowd either. I still have a lot of adrenaline pumping."
Kai Havertz:
"We actually did quite well today. Their playing style didn't suit us well, but we still found a few good solutions. Such a game brings us forward, because most of us haven't played that many international games yet. We haven't known each other as a team for too long. There are a few things we can improve, and we can take a lot from the defeat against the Netherlands in particular."
Julian Brandt:
"We were lacking some finesse and the ability to penetrate in the first half. We did better after the break. It was basically a reasonable game from us. But there is certainly still a lot to improve on."
