Klopp says Germany needs to improve after draw with Netherlands

Germany's head coach Jürgen Klopp has said his team still has a lot of room to improve after starting their UEFA Nations League campaign with a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands in Amsterdam.

After his first match in charge of Germany, Klopp praised the players' intensity, commitment, and effort. But he noted that they struggled to control the game when the Netherlands took charge.

"The intensity, commitment and work rate were good. The quality of our football was good as well. When the Dutch became more dominant, we didn’t play enough football. That’s how we found ourselves under pressure."

"We would’ve liked to have won, but I don’t think their equaliser was undeserved. We weren’t on the way to perfection just yet. There’s still plenty of room for improvement," Klopp said in a statement on the Germany Football Federation (DFB) website on Friday.

The former Liverpool manager pointed out that Germany needed to be sharper on counter-attacks. He also admitted that his style of play would take time to become a habit for the team.

"We created plenty of chances on the counter-attack and we should have made it 2-0 before half time. When things aren’t quite clicking just yet, you have to fight. We did that. But we can most definitely play better football."

"The way we want to play isn’t going to be completely second-nature just yet. We need time for our style of play, particularly without the ball, to become more instinctive. The tactical understanding isn’t quite there yet. But there were plenty of positives that I can work with."

Even with the areas Klopp highlighted for improvement, he earlier said he was happy with Germany’s overall performance against the Netherlands.

"You saw two good football teams in the same situation. Both sides wanted to prove that they aren’t as bad as they’re being made out to be, and you could see that in the game. We played well in the first ten minutes of the game. Then, we had ten minutes where we experienced problems because we couldn’t deal with things."

"If the system isn’t in place, and by that I don’t even mean tactically, but in general, if things aren’t fully worked out yet, then there comes a point in time where you have to fight hard to win tackles. I was very happy with several individual performances and was generally very happy with the performance. We can play better football and play more football. We shot ourselves in the foot on occasion when it came to second balls. It was a tiring game for both sides."

Joshua Kimmich described the match as intense but mentioned that Germany had positive moments, especially at the start.

"It was an intense game where not everything went perfectly, but a lot felt good out there on the pitch, especially at the start of the game. After we went 1-0 up, we had another huge chance."

"The focus over the past few days has been on the defence. In the second half, we concentrated on playing deeper, but at the same time finding a basic structure of how we want to play off the ball. All in all, a draw is a fair result."

Jonathan Tah said Germany would have preferred to win but saw the performance as a positive first step.

"We would have liked to have won the game. There were chances for both sides, but when you’re in front, you want to get it over the line. I think that it’s a good first step for us. The game was really intense. It wasn’t all perfect off and on the ball, but it’s not about that. It’s all about showing that there’s a different side to us."

Philipp Treu stated that Germany succeeded with their initial plan to attack and press the Netherlands.

"At the outset, we wanted to attack, put pressure on them, be tough in the tackle and to play football with power. It worked well at the beginning of the game. We also had some great moments on the counter, when I think about Karim Adeyemi’s chance."

"In my opinion, it was too passive at the back, even in a deep block, but the Netherlands are also a well-drilled attacking side. Everyone gave it their all. It should give us a boost over the coming weeks, that’s exactly how we’ve got to play."