The German media see the origin of the defeat in Flick’s changes
Pessimism and bad omens have taken over the German press following their team’s defeat to Japan in the first leg of the World Cup in Qatar. All newspapers are reporting the catastrophe in Moscow four years ago, when the German team had to return home early after making a fool of themselves in the group stage. Everyone is stressing that Germany will play all or nothing next Sunday against Spain, a team praised for its convincing and devastating debut against Costa Rica and feared for its huge ambition. And they all cite the same culprit for this Wednesday’s disaster.
“The defeat of Flick”, headlines Der Spiegel magazine openly in reference to national coach Hansi Flick, while Die Zeit leads its chronicle with the headline “Fatal decisions on the bench”, the Frankfurter Allgemeine (FAZ) does so with “A fatal mistake and the tabloid Bild explains “How Flick screwed up at its world premiere.” The first is summarized in the three sentences that follow the headline and guide its analysis: «Germany were superior for a long time in their first World Cup match against Japan. Then national coach Hansi Flick changed his two best players. Now the team is about to exit the tournament early.
“Just like four years ago after the 0-1 against Mexico, the Germans have their backs against the wall again” and that their future against Spain will be decided next Sunday “is the most disturbing news given that the (German) team has provided no evidence that it is a candidate for high goals in this tournament,” writes the FAZ for which “the signs after first impressions point to a collapse rather than a spectacular turnaround”.
For Die Zeit, “the German defense problems are not visible since this week, but they have been dragging on for at least four years”, as confirmed by the two effective Japanese counter-attacks that turned the score and “raised fears for the worst” for their next confrontation with the “fast and attacking game” developed by the Spanish team. “Maybe you should cover your eyes more than your mouth with your hand,” says the newspaper, referring to the gesture of the players of the German national team before the start of the match condemning FIFA’s censorship.
“Between the players and the technical team there is a brutal disappointment,” Bild quotes Flick, although he emphasizes that “the coach himself is responsible for what happened before making the changes to Gündogan and Müller. Nine minutes after the double substitution there was a draw and eight minutes later it was 1-2,” the newspaper writes. “One World Cup match is enough to lose all confidence”, is the sentence with which the newspaper Die Welt describes the state of mind of the German team and the explains to fans after “the former world football power” lost the match against Japan. “The initial situation is more than worrying given the threat of historic ridicule,” says the Berlin newspaper.
“Not only the performance of the defense was a subject of discussion after the final whistle, but also the poor use of opportunities. Serge Gnabry, Jamal Musiala and Gündogan missed golden opportunities,” says Die Welt, who questions Flick’s optimism about the commitment to the Spanish eleven. “As far as Spain is concerned, we don’t have very good memories. The last time at the end of 2020 there was the 6-0 catastrophe in Seville and we were tied in the two previous games. A draw on Sunday would be too little and a defeat would be a safe march,’ the same newspaper admits.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
