Joshua Kimmich finds clear words after the semi-final defeat against Portugal. The national coach also misses "the gallantry of recent months". And Michael Ballack lists two substitutes.
05.06.2025, 10:27
05.06.2025, 10:38
dpa
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- Germany are beaten 2-1 by Portugal in the Nations League semi-final despite taking the lead and miss out on the final.
- After the final whistle, captain Joshua Kimmich had clear words and made it clear: "It was an absolutely deserved defeat."
- Former DFB star Michael Ballack also criticized the national team's performance and cited two players who had been substituted.
Joshua Kimmich had truly envisioned his 100th international match differently. As a radiant winner. With a place in the Nations League final. But after the 1:2 (0:0) in the semi-final against Portugal, the captain of the German national football team had nothing to celebrate on Thursday night - but rather a lot to criticize.
Kimmich spoke plainly. "We didn't manage to bring our energy onto the pitch. You couldn't tell that we have a winning mentality, that we have a certain greed, that we want to get to the final," criticized the 30-year-old Bayern professional after missing out on the title against European champions Spain or France again next Sunday in Munich.
"Bitter" is the wrong word for the first defeat since the quarter-final exit against Spain at the 2024 European Championship on home soil, said Kimmich. "It was an absolutely deserved defeat," he said in the ZDF interview.
"Have to have everyone at the limit"
The leader warned that "lessons must be learned": "We have to understand that if we're not at 100 percent, we can't hold our own against a top team. We have to have every player at the limit." That was absolutely not the case against Portugal. In addition, too many top players were missing through injury.
"100 caps for Germany is something very special for me," said Kimmich on his anniversary game at home in the Munich Arena. He also set up Florian Wirtz's header to make it 1:0 with a fine chip ball. After that, however, there was a total break in the team.
Nagelsmann: "Deservedly not in the final"
Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann also spoke of a "huge disappointment" and shared Kimmich's assessment. He said that he had also said "a few true words" to the team in the dressing room after the game.
"We deserve not to be in the final," said the national coach. "The key is that we have to give 100 percent. Then we can keep up with the top teams. We didn't have the gallantry we've shown in recent games."
Instead of playing for the title, the DFB team will now only play for third place against Spain or France this Sunday (15:00) in Stuttgart. The captain gave a clear message for the last international match of the season before returning to his quarters in Herzogenaurach at night: "We can show a reaction there."
Ballack criticizes substitutes
Former DFB star Michael Ballack also spoke plainly. "A lot of mistakes were made, the necessary fitness wasn't there in my opinion, nor was the quality, you have to address that very clearly," said Ballack, adding on "DAZN": "Something was missing, I wouldn't want to accuse the team of not wanting to win. But that wasn't reflected on the pitch."
Above all, Julian Nagelsmann's three-man substitution after an hour of play failed to have the desired effect for Ballack. "It didn't work. Nagelsmann made the change because he realized that we were tired," said the 48-year-old: "He wanted to freshen things up and that backfired because the team lost quality, that has to be said quite clearly."
The former DFB captain also names names. "Gosens and Füllkrug are not international class at the moment," believes Ballack. "The changes didn't do our game any good. It's getting worse by the minute."
