Nagelsmann 'did not mean' to be 'disrespectful' to Northern Ireland
Germany beat Northern Ireland 3-1 when the sides met in September, with Julian Nagelsmann's post-match comments ruffling some feathers.
Julian Nagelsmann says he did not mean any "disrespect" with his comments about Northern Ireland, saying they have a "special way" of playing.
Germany travel to Belfast on Monday to face off against Northern Ireland, having beaten them 3-1 in the reverse fixture last month.
After their meeting in Cologne, Nagelsmann described their opponents as "not brilliant to watch" and said they "played a lot of long balls".
However, in his pre-match press conference on Sunday, Nagelsmann said he never meant his comments to come across as disrespectful to Michael O'Neill's side.
"I said it may not be beautiful to watch, but the more important topic, the key topic I mentioned, is they do it really well. They play long balls with an idea," Nagelsmann said.
"They have a special mood in the team, and I also mentioned it's very difficult to beat this team, they don't concede many goals and create a lot of chances also by set-pieces by doing this way.
"If anybody felt it was disrespectful, I will say sorry. I did not mean it as disrespectful; it was with a lot of respect for the team and the way they play."
Germany are unbeaten in their last 13 matches against Northern Ireland (W10 D3) and have won each of the last 10 in a row.
They have also won seven of their nine away games against Northern Ireland (D1 L1), winning the last five in a row while scoring 15 goals.
However, Northern Ireland are unbeaten in their last seven home games in all competitions, winning six of those (D1).
And Nagelsmann expects Germany, who, along with Northern Ireland and Serbia, are on six points in Group A, to face a stern test at Windsor Park.
"They have a really special way [of playing] and we need every player on the pitch to defend these situations," he added.
"The first leg, it was not easy to beat this team. They play a lot of long balls, they cover all the space, and to win the second ball, you have to fight, the third and the fourth balls as well.
"We saw it in the last game against Slovakia; they did it really well, and they created a lot of stress in the final third."
