Nagelsmann aiming to rediscover Germany´s ruthless streak despite Bosnia win

Julian Nagelsmann believes his Germany side should have been more ruthless despite downing Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-1 in the Nations League on Friday.

Deniz Undav continued his scoring streak for the national side, with his brace enough to see Germany over the line despite Edin Dzeko halving the deficit in the 70th minute.

Nagelsmann’s side sit top of Group A3 after three games ahead of facing the Netherlands on Monday, a side they drew 2-2 with last month.

But the Germany head coach wants to see an improvement in front of goal after dominating for large parts at the Stadion Bilino Polje against Bosnia.

The visitors ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 1.81 from their 12 shots, eight of which were on target, while also creating five big chances.

Germany also finished the game with 73.1% possession, though Nagelsmann said his players must find their clinical edge when they face the Netherlands.

“We didn’t start so well and kept the ball on one side too much in the first ten minutes,” Nagelsmann said.

“When we adjusted that, it was good and we were dominant. Given our superiority, we could have scored more goals.

“Regarding the goal we conceded, Edin Dzeko shouldn’t have been that free inside the box. But the team kept control after that. We didn’t want to take many risks.”

A job well done #DFB #GermanFootball #GermanMNT #BIHGER

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— German Football (@DFB_Team_EN) October 11, 2024

Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz echoed Nagelsmann’s thoughts, acknowledging his side’s wastefulness in front of goal.

Wirtz impressed on Friday, creating more chances (four), playing more passes into the final third (36) and having more touches in the opposition box (six) than any of his team-mates.

“I think we made it difficult for ourselves. We could have won by a bigger margin,” Wirtz said.

“Against the Netherlands we expect long balls to the striker.

“Bosnia did something similar today, but of course it will be even more difficult on Monday.

“The quality of the Dutch team is even higher.”