Mario Gotze, Thomas Muller Respond to Germany Criticism at Euro 2016

Germany stars Mario Gotze and Thomas Muller have both shrugged off criticism of their performances at the UEFA European Championship ahead of their clash with Northern Ireland on Tuesday.

The world champions were well below their best in attack against Poland in their most recent outing, drawing 0-0, with the aforementioned duo struggling. Gotze seemed unfazed when asked about his poor form, though, choosing an intriguing analogy to sum up the situation.

“That's how it is in football," said the 24-year-old, per the Associated Press (h/t MailOnline). "Sometimes you're the dog, sometimes you're the tree. Criticism goes with football. You have to deal with it. We're professional enough.”

Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images

While Gotze has toiled as the man leading the line, few anticipated Muller would have no goals after two games at the tournament. But as reported by the same source, he was equally blase about the attacking quality of the team so far.

“Of course we want to be better in attack, to create more goal-scoring chances," Muller said. "We're working on it as a team, not only in training but we've spoken about it, too. We'll try a few things on Tuesday. We're looking forward to it.”

The camp seems relaxed about the situation, but there has been criticism of the players' efforts from some big figures in German football. Former captain Michael Ballack said the squad lacks “a bit of personality and character,” per Stephan Uersfeld of ESPN FC.

Going forward, we’ve yet to see the best from the likes of Gotze, Muller, Mesut Ozil and Julian Draxler. But as noted by sports journalist Cristian Nyari, the defensive side of the team has been as encouraging—as it has been for a long time:

"

This is the first major tournament in 20 years that #GER have kept clean sheets in first two games. They won the EUROs that year (1996).

— Cristian Nyari (@CrisNyari) June 16, 2016"

Nevertheless, as the tournament rumbles on, Germany will need to show more of an attacking threat if they’re to add this trophy to the FIFA World Cup they won in Brazil two years ago. 

Gotze and Muller have both shone on the big stage before, with each playing a key role in the knockout stages of the most recent World Cup. Once the critical stages in the competition come, these Germany players have shown many times they have the mentality to conjure something special; expect nothing different this time around.