The Bayern Munich forward played an important role as the Germans outclassed defending champions Portugal 4-2 on Saturday.
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Thomas Muller was pleased with Germany’s dominant performance over Portugal but warned them against becoming arrogant. The Germans opened their Euro 2020 account, with a thumping 4-2 victory over Portugal, throwing Group F wide open. Joachim Low’s side started the tournament with a 1-0 loss to France in their opening game. More than the result, it was their performance in the opening match defeat that raised a lot of questions about their ability to go deep in this tournament.
However, the convincing victory against defending champions on Saturday showed their ruthless ability in the tournament. But Muller warned them to not get carried away. He told reporters after the game, “We had a lot of good aspects, but also a lot of things that we still have to improve. That can cost points in the end. Now we have three points, now we’re good at it tournament and we have it in our own hands. Now we mustn’t overdo it or become arrogant – but we can believe in our quality. We can feel a little euphoria.”
With all the teams in Group F playing two matches, France are at the top with four points, followed by Germany and Portugal with three points each. Hungary are sitting fourth after drawing the day’s early match against the World Cup winners. In the final round of fixtures, France play Portugal and Germany take on Hungary.
Germany coach Joachim Low was all praise for Robin Gosens after the Atlanta wing-back put in a stellar showing to beat Portugal 4-2 in Euro 2020. The coach said that he understood early on in the left back’s time with the national team that he possessed all of the necessary skills to succeed.
The Atalanta defender, who got his first cap in September in a Nations League match against Spain, played a starring role in his ninth game for the country on Saturday. The 26-year-old wreaked havoc in Portugal’s defence with his pace and power, setting up two goals and scoring one.
“We scouted him a couple of years ago and he managed to adapt real quick and integrate very well into the team,” Low told a news conference. “After the first match that he played with us, he had no problems… he communicates a lot with all the other players. So it was clear after the first match that he would be with us.”
Low states that Gosens maintains a good relationship with his teammates and is particularly impressed with his communication skills on the pitch. “As a personality, as a character, we rate him very highly because he’s very open minded, active in communicating. He has a good relationship with all the players,” Loew added.
“He’s really clear in his head. He’s like how he plays on the pitch: very strict, direct, puts in a lot of commitment. That’s the way he fights. These are things that are important to him.”
After being beaten by World Cup winners France in their opening match, Germany are back in the mix with a comfortable victory in their second match. They will next play Hungary in Munich on Wednesday.
