Bastian Schweinsteiger has pointed to how Germany lack ‘difference makers’ like Arsenal forward Christos Tzolis after Jurgen Klopp’s team suffered a loss to Greece in the UEFA Nations League.
The four-time world champions’ reign under Klopp has not kicked off in the best possible way. Germany conceded a late stoppage time equaliser in the 1-1 draw with Netherlands on Thursday. And now, Dimitrios Kourbelis’ 74th-minute strike has condemned them to a defeat in Klopp’s second game as head coach.
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In the wake of the surprise defeat to Greece, Schweinsteiger has identified where the problem lies for the German national team. The Bayern Munich legend insists Germany are no longer a top team and believes the national team has reached mediocrity.
Schweinsteiger highlighted how Germany lack difference-makers like Tzolis, who joined Premier League champions Arsenal from Club Brugge this summer. The 2014 FIFA World Cup winner also sent a message to Klopp as he backed the coach for making the right decision of calling up 44 players to his squad for the ongoing international break.
If Germany are to return to their glory days, Schweinsteiger believes a broader set of players must be considered for selection, which he hopes will give Klopp the best tools in the next international break in November.
Schweinsteiger was quoted as saying by Metro:
“We are no longer a top team. We’ve reached mediocrity. We no longer have those players. We have to get away from that.
“Those who make the difference. If you look at Greece today, if you take Karetsas or Tzolis or Pavlidis up front, those were difference-makers for me. And for the Greeks today too. And we just don’t have them.
“That’s why Jurgen Klopp – and it’s the right thing to do – has to look at everyone who could be considered, in order to develop a team that will then play Jurgen Klopp’s style of football. Hopefully, we’ll see that in November.”
Germany have games against Serbia and Greece before the three-week international break comes to an end next week.
What did Arsenal star Tzolis say about Greece’s win over Germany?
Greece have now won both their games in the ongoing UEFA Nations League campaign. Tzolis found the goal that sparked the comeback win over Serbia last Thursday and the win over Germany left the Arsenal man on cloud nine.
The winger described the victory as an amazing feeling. Tzolis hailed Greece’s team spirit after the team beat two high quality opponents away from home to begin their UEFA Nations League campaign in style.
The Arsenal star told reporters:
“It feels amazing. That’s two away games with two wins against very difficult opponents of high quality, especially today. I’m very happy for everybody, including the way we stuck together. It was a great performance – not the best with the ball, but great team spirit.
“Germany were in control, but we didn’t lose our minds. Everybody was making runs; we stuck with our positions, and we knew that we were going to have some chances. We missed a big opportunity before the goal, but we knew that we were going to have another one.”
Tzolis will face Netherlands and Serbia before returning to the Arsenal camp.
Edited by Nived Zenith
