Germany and Poland both satisfied with draw
Thursday, June 16, 2016
Article summary
Poland boss Adam Nawałka said Robert Lewandowski was in "optimum form" as he celebrated a plan executed almost perfectly. Joachim Löw was not obviously upset with a draw either.
Article top media content
Article body
Adam Nawałka, Poland coach
We were controlling things, even at the end. There were times when Germany took the initiative but we gave it to them consciously, to allow us space to hit them on the counterattack. I'm very happy with the team, in particular their discipline and tactical awareness. It all went exactly to plan. The players put a lot of heart into it.
The only thing I'm not completely happy about is our failure to score but 0-0 was a fair result. I'm happy the players aren't fully satisfied. It means they ask a lot of themselves and there's more to come. Now we have a few days to prepare for the final group game. We have a lot of potential.
Robert Lewandowski's performance is always vital to our game plan. He hasn't scored, either against Northern Ireland or tonight, but he's doing a lot of work. He is always thinking about the team and has played a huge role dragging defenders out of place and creating room for team-mates. He is in optimum form.
Joachim Löw, Germany coach
More than anything I'm happy with our defensive performance. We didn't allow Poland to play to their strengths, to hurt us on the counterattack. Aside from that chance [for Arkadiusz Milik] soon after half-time, Neuer didn't have a save to make. Mats [Hummels] was magnificent; both centre-backs, in fact.
Our game in the last third wasn't fast enough. We hesitated and by the time we got there suddenly there were ten men behind the ball. Crosses and balls into the box – that's what Poland want because that's where their strength lies. Bringing [Mario] Götze in made sense but we simply couldn't impose ourselves on the game. We needed to attack better.
The group stage is always attritional, as you've seen across the tournament. In the knockout rounds it opens up: you have to win then. Results in France have been close, with many goals conceded right at the end. For teams here for the first time, this is the tournament of their lives. They fight to the end, defend with ten men and wait for their chances.
