Müller "glad to be out of this mess" after qualifier double

The 27-year-old failed to find the net in Euro 2016 and has yet to score for Bayern Munich this term but he's scored twice in both of Germany's World cup qualifying games against Norway and the Czech Republic. The forward has made it clear the negative assessments of his form had little impact on his confidence.

"I was in a tragic situation before the game, so I was really glad I could get out of this mess," he joked on Sunday, having now scored 36 goals in 80 internationals. "The football business is like that sometimes."

"I try to let myself be influenced as little as possible by the positive as well as the negative moments and just continue on my way. I listen to my coaches and my inner voice, and if a good tip from a journalist is there, I will listen to it too."

Müller's national team coach Joachi Löw was certainly pleased with Müller's performance and that of his team as a whole. He picked out center backs Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels for particular praise after the Bayern pair snuffed out the Czech threat and were also instrumental going forward.

"Jerome and I kept finding good solutions to problems at the back," said Hummels on Monday. "That was partly because our team-mates put in some good lines of running.

"We didn't start our last qualifying campaign so well (after a 2-0 defeat to Poland early in the campaign) and we really want to do things differently this year. At the moment, we are very focussed and things look good."

Both Boateng and fellow defender Jonas Hector suffered knocks in Saturday's match but Löw said the pair have a chance to be fit for Germany's next qualifier against Northern Ireland on Tuesday.

 

  

mp (AFP/Reuters)