Marco Reus: 'We have to improve against Northern Ireland'

DW: Germany led at the break, but ended the game with empty hands. What happened?

Marco Reus: I think we lost our compactness. We stop defending well, which opened up the spaces. The goals came as a result of individual errors and the Dutch were clinical. On the basis of the second half, it was a deserved victory for the Dutch, but it was one we could have avoided.

What problems arose as a result? Was it the wrong tactics, a lack of energy or just the quality of the opposition?

When we play the ball to the opposition, it's individual mistakes. Then you can't block or move anymore, instead you arrive a step too late. Then it's like running the gauntlet, you can't turn it around afterwards. That's a shame, because the first half was really okay. We didn't play particularly well, but we were compact defensively. We didn't put it together over the 90 minutes like we did in the game in the Netherlands.

How was the atmosphere in the dressing room afterwards?

Disappointed.

What has to change on Monday against Northern Ireland in Belfast?

We have to win the game, clearly. Against Northern Ireland, it will likely be a completely different game. We will have more possession, better separation in attack, which will benefit our forwards. Against the Dutch we sat quite deep, which meant the distance to the goal was naturally further away. Anything other than a win in Northern Ireland is out of the question. In contrast to the second half against the Netherlands, a much-improved performance is a must.