Nagelsmann sticking to winning Nations League formula against Netherlands

Continuity is key for Julian Nagelsmann, as the Germany head coach revealed he would make minimal changes for their Nations League encounter with the Netherlands.

Nagelsmann, who watched on as his side swept aside Hungary 5-0 last week, confirmed he will be without Euro 2024 hero Niclas Fullkrug, though.

The 31-year-old scored two goals at the European Championships and was again on target for the Nationalelf in their Nations League opener.

Fullkrug was replaced in the 60th minute by Maximilian Beier, registering an expected goals (xG) tally of 1.11 to Germany’s 3.71 total against Hungary.

However, Nagelsmann confirmed the West Ham United striker suffered an Achilles tendon injury that will rule him out of Tuesday’s fixture in Amsterdam.

“It is not yet clear whether he can play,” Nagelsmann said ahead of kick-off, but revealed he would not be making wholesale changes from their 5-0 win over Hungary.

“We are not thinking about changing much,” Nagelsmann said.

“There are certainly things we can do similarly. But it is a different opponent with a different style of play.”

Läuft! Wir sind bereit für die Niederlande morgen! #dfbteam #nedger
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Germany’s win over Hungary also marked their first encounter without a number of their recent heroes following their retirement after Euro 2024.

Ilkay Gundogan, Toni Kroos, Thomas Muller and Manuel Neuer, who have 451 caps between them, hung up their boots after their run to quarter-finals in their home tournament.

It offered the opportunity for players to stake a claim in the first-team squad, none more so than Barcelona’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Ter Stegen made 41 appearances for his country but has been second choice to Neuer at major tournaments, and the 32-year-old returned to the international stage with a clean sheet, albeit only facing one shot on target against Hungary.

“Marc played a very good game against Hungary,” Nagelsmann said.

“He is a very important player for us because he has been with Barcelona for years and has a responsible position there as captain.”

Although in March, Nagelsmann had told Ter Stegen it would be Neuer who would start at the European Championships, despite missing 21 games for club and country with injury.

“The conversation wasn’t particularly pleasant. Marc took it well and accepted the decision,” Nagelsmann said.

“But I was briefly concerned that he would say I’m not going along with it. That would have been a shame.”

Wir ham‘s geliiiebt heute Abend!
Danke Düsseldorf! #dfbteam #gerhun
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— DFB-Team (@DFB_Team) September 7, 2024