Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann is not spending too much time thinking about Spain teenager Lamine Yamal and more considering his plans for his own player Jamal Musiala ahead of Friday’s Euro 2024 quarterfinal, he said on Thursday.
The 16-year-old Yamal, the youngest player ever to feature at a Euros, has taken the tournament by storm, helping Spain to four consecutive victories with his speed and creative play down the wing.
The Germans will have to find ways to contain the teenager’s speed and skills, Nagelsmann told a press conference, but said he was more focused on his own creative forward Musiala.
“My focus is less on Yamal and more on Jamal. Attacking-wise we can do a lot of things ourselves,” Nagelsmann said. Musiala, the tournament’s joint-top scorer, has netted three times so far.
“He (Yamal) is a big talent. He’s been very consistent this year and there are not many who are so consistent, also for his club Barcelona. He is just 16, which also means our players have a chance to hold their own against him. We’ll see how he reacts when things get tough.”
Nagelsmann said while Spain were brimming with talent and had moved away from the ‘tiki-taka’ passing game of previous years, it was his team that needed to have possession to control the game.
“We have a defensive orientation with different variations but we have the demand to have the ball ourselves. It is more comfortable to play when you have possession,” Nagelsmann said.
“Spain press high to force quick transitions, also win the ball high up the pitch. That is a quality they have acquired and it no longer is just tiki-taka.”
The Germany coach also did not want to reveal his plans for the left wing with either Leroy Sane or Florian Wirtz in the lineup on Friday.
Sane made his first start of the tournament in their 2-0 last 16 win over Denmark.
“I can answer it but I don’t want to answer it,” he said when asked who of the two would start. “We still have a few question marks, we still want to chat about it on the last evening.”
“If you have to decide between Flo and Leroy, it is not such a bad choice.”
The Germans, who have not beaten Spain in a tournament game since 1988, are eyeing their first title in a decade after a string of disappointing tournaments.
Their winless run to the Spaniards also includes a 6-0 demolition in the 2020 Nations League.
“I was not part of these games. I will never say in the changing room this is revenge for a game in the Nations League. I wasn’t there, and neither were some of the players,” Nagelsmann, who took over late last year, said.
“It is irrelevant for tomorrow.”