On Sunday, Germany’s youth movement continued with a 0-0 draw against Greece. Despite the scoreless finish, the team played well and was much closer to a win than a loss. Florian Wirtz, Aleksandar Pavlović, Tom Bischof, Jonas Urbig, and Malick Thiaw were rated as the best German players on the pitch, and all happen to be 25 years old or younger.
After the match (via iMiaSanMia), Jürgen Klopp gave a rave review of his young team.
“I’m very satisfied because I know where we’ve come from,” said Klopp.
“I’m very, very, very impressed with the team. If anything, I’m pleasantly surprised rather than disappointed. I wouldn’t have believed we were capable of playing a first half like that. The boys put in an incredible performance—top-notch in every respect, except for the fact that we didn’t convert our chances into goals or spot a better-positioned teammate in the final third.”
Klopp is obviously pleased that his team is exceeding his expectations, but he knows that his preferred gegenpressing style is physically and mentally draining.
“We got a bit unsettled around the 60-minute mark, so our movements lost some of their clarity,” Klopp added. “But we played just three days ago, and it’s tough to maintain that kind of pace for the full 90 minutes against a strong Greece side. Our counter-pressing worked outstandingly well 90% of the time. The problem is, during that other 10% when it doesn’t work, things can get a bit complicated.”
Klopp’s next challenge will come in November, when he must meld the two separate lineups from this international window into one roster and claim two wins to advance to the UEFA Nations League quarterfinals.
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