Julian Nagelsmann believes Germany's victory over Hungary on Wednesday showed their increasing maturity, even if Toni Kroos is far from satisfied with the Euro 2024 hosts' progress so far.
Germany became the first team to reach the last 16 of the tournament as goals either side of half-time from Jamal Musiala and Ilkay Gundogan saw off tricky opponents.
Indeed, head coach Nagelsmann suggested this was the sort of match in which his team might previously have faltered.
"That was a very unpleasant opponent," he told MagentaTV. "You have to win a game like that first.
"It shows a good maturing process. In November, we would not have won this game."
It is only the second time Germany have advanced through the group stage in four major tournaments, but there is no time to relax ahead of their third match against Switzerland.
The hosts will name a strong side as they aim to maintain their momentum.
"It is important that we have as many players from the first XI back on the pitch as possible, because we have deliberately distributed the roles," Nagelsmann added. "We believe in the players' respective strengths in their roles.
"It may of course be that we change one or two players; we have to see how everyone gets through this game. But as of now, everyone is healthy."
That will be music to the ears of retiring midfielder Kroos, who is keen for Germany to go "full throttle" against Switzerland.
He and his team-mates are perhaps wary of a repeat of the last Euros, where Germany came through the group stage but drew their third match and then had to face England in the last 16, losing at Wembley.
"There is little reason for the pressure to drop now because we have a bigger goal than just the round of 16," Kroos said.
He added to RTL: "It is also a statement to come first in the group, and it is important to maintain this run."
Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-2 Germany: Undav double secures second Nations League win
Deniz Undav netted twice in the space of six first-half minutes as Germany held on for a 2-1 win against Bosnia-Herzegovina in their Nations League match at the Stadion Bilino Polje.
The Stuttgart striker found the back of the net in the 30th and 36th minutes to pull Julian Nagelsmann’s side into a two-goal lead, but captain Edin Dzeko’s goal for the hosts after restart set up a tense ending to the game which the Germans navigated.
Florian Wirtz ran onto a lofted ball from Robert Andrich before laying it back for Undav to open the scoring at the half-hour mark in the League A Group 3 fixture, but Bosnia-Herzegovina were unfortunate not to equalise in an instant.
Ermedin Demirovic broke free on a counter just four minutes later and beat German goalkeeper Alexander Nubel with his shot only to see it brush the top of the crossbar on its way out.
It proved to be a costly miss as Undav turned in a low cross from Maximilian Mittelstadt a couple of minutes later to give the visitors a two-goal cushion.
Undav thought he had his hat-trick in the 58th minute only for the goal to be ruled out for offside before Dzeko halved the deficit for Sergej Barbarez’s side heading home a Benjamin Tahriovic corner with 20 minutes left to play.
But the hosts failed to find an equaliser as group toppers Germany preserved their unbeaten start and went two points clear of the Netherlands with their second win. Bosnia-Herzegovina, meanwhile, sit bottom with only one point from three matches.
Palmer will become one of the world's best players, predicts Cucurella
Cole Palmer will be among the very best players in the world if he continues on his current trajectory, believes the forward's Chelsea team-mate Marc Cucurella.
Palmer enjoyed a magnificent debut campaign in 2023-24 after swapping Manchester City for Stamford Bridge, with his 33 Premier League goal involvements (22 goals, 11 assists) the most of any player.
After impressing for England at Euro 2024 – where he came off the bench to score in their 2-1 final defeat to Spain – Palmer has picked up where he left off this term, registering 11 goal contributions (six goals, five assists) to once again lead the charts.
He became the first player in Premier League history to score four goals before half-time in a single game versus Brighton and Hove Albion in September, when he scooped the competition's Player of the Month award.
Palmer also won England's Player of the Year award for last campaign and Cucurella, who was a key part of the Spain team that defeated the Three Lions in Berlin, believes he is destined for the very summit.
"If you see him not in his kit you would never in your life say he was a footballer, but then on the pitch... he shoots and it doesn’t seem like he is hitting it hard but he scores," Cucurella said in an interview with The Guardian.
"He's very different. I don't know how to explain it: he's special. We’re very lucky we have him.
"We [Spain] are lucky he didn’t play much in the Euros either because he came on and almost messed it up for us.
"If he carries on like this, he'll be among the best. He doesn't have much strength in the air, but if that’s his only problem, then he's all right."
Chelsea are unbeaten in six Premier League games since going down 2-0 to champions City on matchday one, with boss Enzo Maresca winning the competition's Manager of the Month prize for September.
Though it is still early days for the Italian coach, Cucurella says the Blues have lofty ambitions under him.
"Our objective has to be to win a trophy," he said. "In the Conference League we can do something good, and the cups.
"Arsenal and City have been working in the same way for many years, the same idea, the same players, and I think we’re a bit far away from that.
"Liverpool too because it's been the same players. But we can get into the Champions League, that's the key objective."
Arsenal 'envious' of Chelsea's WSL dominance, admits McCabe
Arsenal are "envious" of the era of dominance over the Women's Super League enjoyed by rivals Chelsea, admitted Katie McCabe ahead of Saturday's derby between the sides.
Chelsea have won five straight WSL crowns, edging out Manchester City on goal difference last season to give Emma Hayes a triumphant send-off before she joined the United States.
Now under the stewardship of former Lyon boss Sonia Bompastor, Chelsea are the only team in the WSL with a perfect record this term, winning their opening two matches before seeing last week's clash with Manchester United postponed.
Arsenal, on the other hand, have already played out home draws with Man City and Everton, ramping up the pressure ahead of Saturday's game at the Emirates Stadium.
Asked by reporters how it felt to see Arsenal's rivals dominate year after year, full-back McCabe said: "It always hurts.
"You want that to be you. You are in a team sport to be lifting trophies with your team-mates.
"Of course you are envious of them being successful. What we can do is focus on ourselves and put one foot in front of the other. Hopefully, by the end of the season, that will be us."
While Chelsea approach this weekend's headline fixture as favourites, they were trounced 4-1 in this exact game last December, with Alessio Russo scoring twice in one of just three league defeats the Blues suffered all campaign.
Looking back at that victory, McCabe said: "We take those moments as positives and bring it in and really instil that winning mentality into the team.
"We already did it last year, so it's not a new thing for us. It is about controlling ourselves, controlling our gameplan and what we want to do in the game and applying it."
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