Germany arrived in India as one of the forces to recognize with at the FIFA under-17 World Cup. But the 0-4 humiliating defeat against lesser-fancied Iran weakened their aspirations. German defender Yann Aurel Bisseck credits the team for reflecting on their mistakes and getting back together after the defeat for making a comeback with two back-to-back wins, which included the 4-0 pre-quarterfinal win against Colombia here on Tuesday.
"Iran defeat was very heavy for us," said Bisseck. "We didn't play like we wanted to play. After the game the whole team came together and discussed everything for an hour-and-a-half: What happened, why it happened. And that really helped us as we came back strongly. We performed well from the beginning against Guinea and Colombia."
The defender scored the important second goal when Colombians were looking to get back in the game. Knowing the importance of the goal, Bisseck described how special it felt to score.
"It was a great feeling to score a goal in a World Cup. As I am a defender I don't score many goals. I was happy not only for myself but for the team because 2-0 was relieving for us as the Colombians were very aggressive after going 1-goal down. It was also my first goal ever for Germany," said Bisseck.
The centre-back felt the South American opponents were very physical for their liking. "Colombians were very physical. We Germans are not so used to playing such physical game, because our league back in Germany is more about passes and less physique so it took us time to adapt to the Colombians' physicality and I think we managed to do that well," said Bisseck.
The 16-year-old defender, who plays for Bundesliga club FC Koln's youth team, heaped praise on teammate Jann-Fiete Arp for scoring a brace against Colombia.
"We are very fortunate that he (Arp) is a German. He is a great player. Being a captain, he plays a very important role on and off the field. We always know if he has got the ball and he is near to the goal, it will get dangerous for the opponents," said Bisseck.