Germany must improve its performance in every respect, said captain Joshua Kimmich after the 0-1 loss to Greece in the Nations League. The match at the “VVK Arena“ in Augsburg was Jurgen Klopp's second match in charge of the Bundesliga.
The only goal came in the 74th minute. Dimitrios Kurbelis shot from the edge of the penalty area, and the ball deflected off Kimmich and entered the German goal. Thus, Greece achieved its first victory against the German national team.
“We need to improve in every respect. We need to understand the coach's ideas even better," Kimmich told German broadcaster ARD.
Kimmich: We were too static
The midfielder admitted that Germany had difficulties against their deep-lying defence. According to him, the team did not create enough scoring chances and in attack there was a lack of movement and decisions.
„We did not create many scoring chances and had difficulties against their deep-lying defence. We were too static and we lacked creativity,“ said Kimmich.The captain pointed out that the Greek goalkeeper made one or two good saves and admitted that with more luck Germany could have scored. However, he described the hosts' performance as insufficient and said that a 0-0 draw would have been a fairer result.
“The way of playing is different. I don't think we made so many mistakes in the passing game and that we were caught on the counterattack so often. However, we were not creative enough as a team in attack“, added Kimmich.
Klopp started with a draw and a loss
Germany began their participation in the tournament with a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands, and the defeat by Greece left the team with one point after two matches in Group A2. The Greeks are at the top with six points, while the Netherlands have four and Serbia have not won a point.
Germany's next match is at home to Serbia on October 1. Three days later, the Bundesteam will visit Greece in Thessaloniki.
Sources: Topsport