Germany coach Joachim Loew could leave Leipzig on Wednesday satisfied after his side's 1-0 win over the Czech Republic in a friendly.
Lucas Waldschmidt scored the winner to celebrate Germany's second triumph of the year in six games. The other one was a 2-1 win last month against Ukraine, while four other games ended in draws. Loew's experiment with a team filled with young and inexperienced players seemed to work, as his top men such as the Bayern Munich stars were rested.
Ahead of the Nations League fixtures against Ukraine and Spain the young team impressed with enthusiasm and high commitment. "Every game you win is good and helpful, and it makes you feel good," Loew said.
That is just the extra boost the coach and his squad needed before the last two challenges of 2020 and also the last chance to top the Group A4 standings, which also means a spot in the Nations League Final Four in October 2021. "The boys really stepped up and played a very intense game," Loew told broadcaster RTL.
Both Ridle Baku of Wolfsburg and Philipp Max of PSV Eindhoven impressed on their debuts, with Max providing the assist for Waldschmidt's goal. "Ridle worked hard on the right side, Philipp Max was very, very good. Robin Koch played really well, was in very good shape and made a lot of clearances," Loew said.
"[Waldschmidt] has taken a step forward. He started well with us, then he was injured and took a long break. He scored a goal against Turkey, he scored a goal today. You can tell that he's dangerous in front of the goal." But if Germany were promising at times, they were also wasteful like in previous games. The young team should have led by a bigger margin at the break, and despite some more promising moves also lacked precision when it mattered after the break.
Borussia Dortmund midfielder Julian Brandt was a target of media criticism, but Loew defended him saying he "has a lot of potential." "What we need to work with him is consistency. Today he wasn't always lucky in his actions. But he has been very committed. Maybe a bit unlucky here and there, so he still has to improve," Loew explained.
The Czechs were offensively quite harmless and goalkeeper Kevin Trapp could enjoy a calm shift. The defence built around Robin Koch, Antonio Ruediger and Jonathan Tah was also not really challenged. However, the same scenario should not be expected against Ukraine and Spain, especially when a spot in the Nations League final tournament is on the table. "It's clear that competitions have a certain importance. When points are at stake, of course you want to win. The chances are still there. It's a decisive game against Ukraine. If we win, we are in a good position," Loew added.
For the remaining fixtures, Loew will have his Bayern players led by captain Manuel Neuer and others such as Toni Kroos and Timo Werner back. All of them were rested against the Czech Republic. Bayern defender Niklas Suele, who was not called up for international duties due to a positive coronavirus test last week, got a late spot in the squad and will strengthen the team. He finished his quarantine and trained at Bayern on Wednesday. "Niklas has no symptoms and I decided he will be added to the squad," Loew said.
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