DFB sporting director Völler attended the press conference at the national team's training camp. This article is the second part of the press conference.

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Mr. Völler, a question about Nick Woltemade—he's one of the players who hasn't had much playing time yet. How has he performed in training over the last few days? As a former striker and elder statesman of the attack, have you spoken with him about how to maintain composure at this stage of the tournament?

Of course. The longer the tournament goes, the more players there will be who have played little or not at all. As I said, our coaching staff specifically went out on the pitch yesterday. The training session for the players who didn't play yesterday was really excellent. Everyone was fully engaged and passionate, which is extremely important. Before the match, we repeatedly emphasized that the starting XI must deliver to be successful, but the players on the bench—and this isn't just about team spirit, but also about these substitutes training and maintaining intensity—are crucial to the team's overall success.

If you were to summarize the group stage now: Argentina's and France's performances have indeed been impressive. How would you assess Germany's performance in comparison? Does that gap still exist? How do you evaluate Germany's current strength?

Regarding these two teams and even our own team, I think I've said it often before the match, and Julian (Nagelsmann) and some players have said it too: I believe we have a team that, if it's in top form and performing at its absolute best—at 100%—can beat any team.

Of course, as you saw against Ecuador, if concentration drops by a few percentage points—which is understandable and normal when you're already group leaders—then we can also lose to some teams. That's the reality, that's the difference. Perhaps one or two other top teams can achieve their goals even at 80 or 90 percent of their performance level. But that's not possible for us. However, I'm very calm and relaxed because I know the team will give everything and fight with all their strength next Monday.

Hello Mr. Völler, Nathaniel Brown sat out against Ecuador with a minor injury as a precautionary measure. The head coach was optimistic beforehand—perhaps you could give us a brief update on his current status?

That's a very good question. I can't give you further details at the moment, to be honest. We all hope he feels better, and we still have two days. I speculate that he'll take part in training today, and you'll see him on the pitch this afternoon, but I'm not 100% certain yet. We'll release training photos, and then you'll be able to see whether he's on the pitch.

Ruddy, what's your current assessment of the French team? You must have watched their matches. Is France the biggest favorite for the title in your view? How strong do you rate them currently?

I'd prefer to talk about our match against Paraguay next Monday, but generally speaking, there are indeed some national teams that are favorites for the title, and France obviously belongs among them. That's nothing new; it was the case four weeks ago, and it will certainly still be the case in four weeks. For many years to come, France will be a top favorite. But we're not focusing on that right now, nor do we need to. Our only focus is Paraguay next Monday; we want to advance.

Ruddy, one more on the summary: Winning the group certainly fulfilled the objective, but from your perspective, which aspects of Germany's play on the field have been effective so far? And which areas need improvement?

Everyone saw the effective parts in the first two matches, particularly in the second one, where we encountered some difficulties and resistance. The match was somewhat rough, but the enormous passion and fighting spirit shown afterward, and the eventual successful turnaround, were exemplary performances and also to be expected.

As I said, it was indeed difficult against these two opponents. But in the second and especially the third match, you also see that what was really uncomfortable for us wasn't just the physical confrontation—which you have to learn to handle—but rather the careless, unnecessary ball loss in midfield during our buildup. When you lose the ball in this area, whether it's against Ecuador or now Paraguay, they're very good at exploiting such mistakes for counterattacks. I'm firmly convinced they've noticed this too, and we need to minimize this risk.

Of course, you can't be successful with every pass; you'll always make poor passes and lose duels. But ball loss in critical areas, in these sensitive zones, can be very damaging. We need to reduce this to a minimum, otherwise the match will be very difficult. Of course, every team wants to reduce ball loss, but we also have players who play with creativity, dribbling, and risk-taking, and we encourage this style. But at the same time, there must be a certain discipline to avoid falling into the opponent's counter trap, which is the greatest threat to us.

Hello Mr. Völler, I remember you prematurely revealed Waldemar Anton's transfer to Dortmund during the home European Championship. Can you now reveal the news about Nathaniel Brown's move to Bayern Munich? And if so, why is he a good fit for Bayern? Following that, there's discussion about his position on the field. Many voices suggest Brown should play right back in the next match, with Raum on the left and Kimmich back in midfield. What do you think about that?

Quite a few questions! First, regarding Nathaniel Brown: his development at Eintracht Frankfurt over the last six months, or even the last year, has been remarkable. Julian's decision to deploy him in this position for the national team and quickly give him trust was no accident, and Brown has solidified his place with his performances. Although David Raum has also played well and consistently, Brown has truly earned this position. As for transfer rumors, we'll see. If I really knew the exact news, I might tell you, but honestly, I don't.

Übersetzt von KI.

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