“Stirred something up in the country”

For eight years, Germany failed to win a knockout clash at a major tournament.

On Saturday evening, this unusually long dry spell for the DFB team finally came to an end in the domestic European Championship.

With a hard-fought 2-0 win over Denmark in Dortmund (match report>>>), captain Julian Nagelsmann’s side booked a place in the quarter-finals, where they will face either Spain or surprise side Georgia in Stuttgart on July 5. .

Rudiger: “We let them live longer”

“We’ll take it when it comes,” says Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger, who doesn’t want to indulge in any speculation about a possible sentiment from the Georgians. For the 31-year-old defender, the main focus was on a 16-run win, which in his view was absolutely fine despite some close VAR decisions.

“It’s very good. We dominated from the start. The only thing we can criticize is that we didn’t kill them earlier. We let them live longer,” said Rudiger, somewhat martially.

Rudiger praised the “good character” of the DFB squad

For Rudiger, it was no coincidence that Germany scored their expected opener shortly after Joachim Andersen almost went behind, his goal disallowed due to a very low offside position (48′).

“Situations like this are not easy. But this team shows good character and we have shown that against all odds we can come back.” The Germans did not lose their concentration, though a thunderstorm interrupted it for several minutes.

Strong performance by Schlotterbeck

Anderson of all people received the ball from a cross shortly after his goal was disallowed, so the penalty was fair and converted safely by Guy Howards (53′). Then Jamal Musiala closed the sack (68′).

But Rüdiger makes it clear that the DFB team still has a long way to go: “We still have three finals to go!”

It remains to be seen if Niko Schlotterbeck will also start. The Dortmund defender slipped into the starting line-up due to Jonathan Thaw’s suspension and produced a strong performance at home. Among other things, he prepared the target of Musiala.

“I think we played a great game. We had crazy fans behind us. The stadium was rocking. I’m used to it from Dortmund anyway, but not from the national team,” Schlotterbeck beamed after the game.

“I’m happy we made it to the quarterfinals,” said Schlotterbeck, who didn’t get a top spot in the national team after a few mistakes.

DFB-Elf will want to capitalize on the joy in their home country

“I didn’t look very happy in the DFP. But I put a lot of pressure on myself and it didn’t come from outside. I’m happy we kept a clean sheet. I think we played well. The two goals were rewarded.”

Now they want to carry the growing euphoria in Germany as best as possible: “We have sparked something in the country, and when something comes from outside, you are happy to promote it. We play a lot. Fun and that’s the most important thing.”

In any case, DFB team boss Julian Nagelsmann was satisfied with his team – especially when it came to their will and fighting spirit: “It was a strange game. We were good at first. Then it was a game full of opposition. We fought back. Against that we “advanced with merit.”

Anderson: “Definitely not a penalty”

However, the other side struggled with the fortunes of the game.

Dane Thomas Delaney said: “It’s very difficult for us now. We lost against a good team. We had to stick the knife in. The game was exactly what we expected. I don’t know if it was obvious. We conceded our goal.

And the unfortunate Andersen said of the penalty situation: “It was crazy, definitely not a penalty. I can’t play football with my hands behind my back at the same time. He came half a meter away from me and hit me. I don’t know how I would have blocked the hand with the ball.”