MUNICH (Reuters) – Germany coach Joachim Loew praised Robin Gosens for his dominant display in Saturday’s 4-2 Euro 2020 win over Portugal, saying he knew very early in the left back’s time with the national team that he had all the qualities to succeed.
Atalanta defender Gosens, who has played his professional career outside Germany and has unusually not come out of the country’s youth system, won his first cap in September in a Nations League match against Spain.
The 26-year-old excelled in his ninth game for the country on Saturday, causing problems for the Portugal defence with his blistering pace and power as he set up two goals and scored another in the Group F clash.
“We scouted him a couple of years ago and he managed to adapt real quick and integrate very well into the team,” Loew told a news conference.
“After the first match that he played with us, he had no problems… he communicates a lot with all the other players. So it was clear after the first match that he would be with us.”
Loew said he was particularly impressed with the player’s discipline and communication skills on the pitch.
“As a personality, as a character, we rate him very highly because he’s very open minded, active in communicating. He has a good relationship with all the players,” Loew added.
“He’s really clear in his head. He’s like how he plays on the pitch: very strict, direct, puts in a lot of commitment. That’s the way he fights.
“These are things that are important to him.”
Germany, who were beaten by world champions France in their opener, will take on Hungary in Munich on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru)
