Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann has admitted his side were left open to counter-attacks, even as they secured a 2-1 friendly victory over Ghana’s Black Stars in Stuttgart.
A late strike from Deniz Undav sealed the win for the four-time world champions, giving them back-to-back victories during the March international break.
Germany had earlier beaten Switzerland 4-3, and Nagelsmann believes his team actually performed better against Ghana, despite the narrow scoreline.
“The game started brilliantly from our perspective. If we maintain our tactical discipline, things go really well,” he said after the match. “We then became impatient because we were so desperate to score.
“That led to too much freestyle play, and then we became too vulnerable to counter-attacks.”
Midfielder Florian Wirtz thought he had given Germany the lead midway through the first half, but his goal was ruled out after VAR judged Nick Woltemade to be offside in the build-up.
“We should have scored two or three goals in the first half. In my opinion, we played better than against Switzerland,” Nagelsmann added.
He also criticised his team’s defensive lapses, especially around Ghana’s equaliser.
“The team sometimes makes things difficult for itself. It's good that we always want to score, but it's also enough if we score late. It's just as important that we don't concede two or three goals because we get caught on the counter-attack.
“The equaliser was far too easy; we shouldn't concede that,” said the former Bayern Munich coach.
Germany have been drawn in Group E for the World Cup, where they will face Ivory Coast, debutants Curaçao and South American side Ecuador.
By: Pascal Amoah
