Nations League: European champion Italy hammered by Germany, Thomas Muller lauds brave football

Italy suffered a 2-5 defeat to Germany in the UEFA Nations League. Meanwhile, Thomas Muller has lauded Germany's brave and risk-taking footballing effort.

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It was a shocking outing from reigning Europan champion Italy, as it suffered a heavy defeat to Germany in the A-category of the UEFA Nations League (UNL) 2022-23, in its Group 3 encounter. Played at the Stadion in BORUSSIA-PARK in Monchengladbach on Tuesday, the visitors were thrashed 2-5. It was the first defeat of the season for Italy, as it is placed third with a win and a couple of draws. On the other hand, the hosts are ranked second with a victory, and three draws so far. In the meantime, Thomas Muller was all-praise for the National Eleven's risk-taking and bold style of football.

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As for the match, it began with Joshua Kimmich's opening strike in the tenth minute, followed by Ilkay Gündogan through a penalty at the stroke of half-time, as the Germans led 2-0 during the break. The ensuing half saw Thomas Müller triple the lead at 51st, followed by Timo Werner's brace in the 68th and 69th. Although Degnand Wilfried Gnonto (78) and Alessandro Bastoni (90+4) pulled a couple back for Italy, they were nothing more than consolations.

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After the success, Muller told ZDF, "One good aspect that we brought into play today is that we played a little riskier and had more courage. Accept the risk of losing the ball with the knowledge of snatching away the second ball. So, objective courage and not emotional courage."

"We have everything to be able to beat anyone on a good day. We still have to improve on the football-savvy things, like wanting to do the right thing. We won many second balls, which made the game easier for us. I know I won't play 50 more international matches. Let's see what happens in the next two or three years, but I'm enjoying it a lot now," added Muller.

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Meanwhile, Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma did not mind taking the blame for the defeat. "We were lacking everything tonight. There was also some fatigue after four games in 15 days at the end of the season, but we don't want to seek alibis. Now we will look each other in the eye and analyse everything," he told RAI Sport.