Joshua Kimmich, who gave the assist for Germany's only goal against Portugal, lamented the defeat in the Nations League semifinal and said they played one of their “worst games”. The captain said the defeat was more than “deserved”.
Germany, hosts of this Nations League Final Four, were eliminated in the first semifinal of the tournament. Nagelsmann's team lost 1-2 to Portugal, who came from behind with goals from Francisco Conceicao and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Kimmich, who set up Wirtz for the 1-0 lead, told 'ZDF' that the defeat was fair because they were not up to the task: “Bitter is not the word. It's a completely deserved defeat. We are fair losers.”
“After the 1-0 we didn't defend well. We have to learn from that. We did a lot of things right against Italy (in the quarterfinals), but not against Portugal. We are always going to suffer against top teams if we are not “at 100%,” he finished.
Germany will close their participation in this Nations League with the match for third and fourth place. Their opponent will emerge from the clash between Spain and France, the other semi-final of the tournament.