Julian Nagelsmann ‘sorry’ if his Northern Ireland comments seen as disrespectful

Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann has said he is “sorry” if Northern Ireland felt his comments about their style of play were disrespectful.

Nagelsmann caused a stir after Germany’s 3-1 World Cup qualifying win over Northern Ireland in Cologne last month when he said Michael O’Neill’s side play “a lot of long balls” with an approach that “isn’t particularly easy on the eyes”.

The topic has returned to the fore ahead of Monday’s Group A rematch in Belfast, with O’Neill responding by pointing to the number of times Germany pumped the ball long themselves in Cologne and saying it was not his job to worry about what his opponents may think.

Asked about the view that his comments had been disrespectful, Nagelsmann said on Sunday: “I didn’t mean any disrespect. I said it may not be beautiful to watch but the more important topic, the key topic I mentioned is they do it really well. They play long balls with an idea.

“They have a special mood in the team and I also mentioned it’s very difficult to beat this team, they don’t concede many goals and they create a lot of chances also by set-pieces by doing this way of soccer. So if anybody felt it was disrespectful I can say sorry.

“I did not mean it as disrespectful, it was with a lot of respect for the team and the way they play.”

Nagelsmann opened his press conference by repeating his view that Northern Ireland tend to go long, but said he had been impressed by their performance in Friday’s 2-0 win over Slovakia – a result that means Northern Ireland, Germany and Slovakia go into Monday’s games level on six points.

“They created a lot of stress in the final third,” Nagelsmann added. “You have to defend very well with a man covering, to avoid some crosses, to avoid some set-pieces. You have some space to find some counter-attacks but it will not be easy so we have to perform very well to win this game tomorrow.”

Florian Wirtz scored Germany’s decisive third goal in Cologne with an outstanding free-kick, but it remains the only goal or assist Liverpool’s £116million signing has managed this season.

That is despite the 22-year-old creating more chances, 21, than any other player in the Premier League so far.

“I think it’s the normal way when you go to a new club, to a new league, it’s not that easy at the beginning,” Nagelsmann said.

“He will adapt, I think, very quickly, and he will score goals for Liverpool and he will create a lot of chances. Probably he can score tomorrow and I will be very happy for him and for us.”

Asked if he had noticed a difference in Wirtz’s confidence amid recent scrutiny, Nagelsmann added: “I think the first time when we met after the summer period, it was kind of special for him because he was new at Liverpool and then in the first time in the national team (after his move).

“We had a long meeting and discussed the situation but now he’s the old Wirtz, a good mood, and I hope we will see him perform tomorrow evening very well.”