NEW JERSEY, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann called on his players to show greater patience and control after their 2-1 defeat to Ecuador in their final FIFA World Cup group match on Thursday.
Nagelsmann acknowledged that Ecuador deserved the victory, saying Germany had made a good start but gradually lost its structure as the game progressed.
"After taking the lead, we lost a little bit of control," he said. "When you start a game well and go in front, you have to remain patient, prepare the spaces and then accelerate when those spaces open up."
The German coach said excessive positional rotations made it easier for Ecuador to press and left his side exposed when possession was lost.
"Self-confidence should not lead to too many positional changes," he said. "We need more stability in our build-up. If we do that, it will be much more difficult for opponents to beat us."
Nagelsmann also praised Ecuador's physical strength, but said Germany could have dealt with it more effectively by moving the ball earlier and improving its collective positioning.
Despite the defeat, Germany had already secured top spot in Group E. Nagelsmann insisted the result would not damage the team's confidence ahead of Monday's round-of-32 match in Boston.
"A defeat is never good, even when you cannot lose first place in the group," he said. "We have to learn our lessons and improve, but we also have to look forward."
"We have won a lot of matches and lost one. We are not packing our bags and going home. We are flying to Boston to win on Monday," he added. ■
