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Perhaps the only positive thing Germany can take away from its national football team crisis is that Euro 2024 is still a year away.
Even if few believe it anymore, Germany coach Hansi Flick insists there is enough time to turn things around before hosting the tournament.
Flick struggled to justify his conviction late on Tuesday after a recent disappointing performance – a 2-0 loss to Colombia that saw his side whistle at half-time and again at the end.
With the results, what can I say? Flake said. “The arguments are not in our favor.”
Some fans have even held up signs saying “Flick out”, showing who they believe deserve blame for Germany’s ongoing slump.
Flick had said before kick-off that it was necessary to beat Colombia after losing 1-0 in Poland and drawing 3-3 with Ukraine last week.
“We need successful results to take the next steps, otherwise it will be difficult,” Flick said.
It proved difficult. Germany has qualified to host Euro 2024, which means they will not face any competitive matches before the tournament. It relies on friendlies to build confidence, but lackluster results have the opposite effect.
Without naming names, the national team’s sporting director Rudi Fuller questioned the quality of the players and suggested dropping some of them before next year’s tournament.
“There were some involved today that we won’t see again in September,” Fuller said, referring to Germany’s upcoming friendlies against Japan and France. “Everyone was involved, it’s not in question. But in the end, you have to say it’s definitely a matter of quality.”
Germany has no shortage of good players. Jamal Musiala and Florian Werts are some of the best young players in Europe, Antonio Rudiger plays for Real Madrid, Ilkay Gundogan just helped Manchester City win the Champions League for the first time, and Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka and Leroy Sane are all used to it. He plays at the highest level for Bayern Munich.
But AC Milan defender Malik Thiaw was the only German player to feature with any credit this week after making his debut against Poland and keeping his starting place against Colombia.
Germany’s woes predate Flick, going back to when the team were eliminated in the group stage at the 2018 World Cup as defending champions under Joachim Loew. Another flop followed in 2021 at the postponed Euro 2020 tournament due to the coronavirus before Flick took over.
Flick was Löw’s assistant from 2006 to 2014 and then won every trophy he could win as Bayern coach in 2020 and 2021. He was supposed to oversee Löw’s botched changeover and turn Germany’s team back into a ruthless scoring machine.
But Germany faltered again in the group stage at last year’s World Cup. Of their 11 matches this season, Germany have won just three – a ultimately futile win over Costa Rica at the World Cup, and two friendly victories over Peru and Oman.
Four-time World Cup champions Germany used to be a fearsome opponent. Now gamer confidence is arguably at an all-time low.
“It’s dramatic,” said Goretzka after Colombia’s first-ever victory over Germany. “You couldn’t say the soul wasn’t there. We wanted to throw everything in. Everyone wants that.”
Chopping and changing Flick did not help. He made nine changes to the Poland match from the starting line-up against Ukraine, then five more changes to the team to face Colombia.
None of Flick’s tinkering has resulted in any improvement and all the changes he has made give the impression that he is still unsure of his best lineup. Players also cannot settle into or get used to playing in any system when they play with their new teammates in each game.
Gundogan alluded to a vicious cycle of poor results affecting confidence, leading to shakier performances and poor results. He also noted Fuller’s accusation of a lack of quality.
“If you cannot reach your supposedly high potential over a longer period of time, I think it is only natural that you bring up the issue of quality at some point. We have to face that,” said Gundogan. “However, we are here to represent Germany in the best possible way. You haven’t succeeded at all in the last few matches. We have to ask ourselves critically and then come together again.”
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