“What is your state of mind on the eve of your debut in the tournament?
We want to win this opening match. I want the team to believe in themselves, to do things together. We had good sessions, we showed character during our two preparation matches. We beat Greece, drew against Ukraine but it was important to show that we wanted to win every time, that we had faith in ourselves. This is what we must show tomorrow to have the country behind us. We have to use being at home. Please be loud tomorrow.
What type of confrontation do you expect?
Scotland have a very good team, with four or five important players. It’s a physical, aggressive training course that does a lot of racing. They don’t have any big stars but they are a very dangerous team, with a “Scottish” mentality. She can do kick and rush but she is also capable of developing good football. They will have less pressure on us. They will undoubtedly try to capitalize on it.
Germany has not performed very well in its last international tournaments. Does this add any form of pressure to you?
There’s no point in talking about the past. What matters is where we want to go. We want to be more successful than last time. Getting a good start tomorrow is important. It’s normal to feel a little pressure before such a match, before such a tournament. But it’s a privilege. We are capable of beating this pressure and beating Scotland.
Manuel Neuer was criticized after his error against Greece. Why did you choose to reinforce it?
Whether it’s me or Manuel, we know how the media work. Everyone must do their job. I don’t have time to read all the papers, to find out if people are happy or not. Sorry, but I don’t care. What matters is what I tell my players and the confidence I have in them. »
