Hansi Flick celebrated his first football festival as national coach with wonderful goals on his home debut. Three days after the tough debut success against Liechtenstein in Stuttgart, 18,086 spectators cheered a 6-0 (4-0) against Armenia, with which the national team, led by double goalscorer Serge Gnabry, stormed into first place in Group J in the World Cup qualifying. In the top game against the Armenians, who offered a lot of leeway, the fans, who were often disappointed recently, got a first taste of the offensive football propagated by Flick with pressing, quick direct combinations and goals from the delicatessen department on Sunday evening.
Gnabry, who was born in Stuttgart, opened the peat festival with an early double (6th / 15th minute). The offensive colleague Marco Reus with his goal comeback in the DFB jersey after 27 months (35th) and the Stuttgart-born Timo Werner (44th), who was made strong again by Flick, ensured clear conditions before the break. Gladbacher Jonas Hofmann (52nd) and Salzburg newcomer Karim Adeyemi (90th + 1) with their first international goals scored to the delight of the audience. With twelve points, Flick can now travel to Reykjavik with his blossoming team for the third qualifying game against Iceland on Wednesday.
Shortly before kick-off, captain Manuel Neuer and the injured missing Thomas Müller were each honored for 100 international matches in the national team’s jersey. The Bayern professionals smiled at the camera with their DFB hats and were celebrated by the spectators – before the arena fell silent for a moment in memory of the record striker Gerd Müller who died three weeks ago. “The penalty area was your home – the ’74 star bears your name – the nation’s bomber – unforgotten,” read a banner in the fan curve.
Gnabry made sure that a current DFB striker was cheered loudly in the early stages. The Munich player resolved to score his 17th international goal in a quick attack via Werner and Leon Goretzka in the depths of the penalty area – that’s how Flick had imagined it. “I hope that we can help ensure that the atmosphere in the stadium is great,” the national coach said shortly before the game. That worked very well.
The DFB selection impressed with great enthusiasm and high speed, especially in the first half. However, also favored by the visibly overwhelmed Armenians who had decided to play offensively. The Flick-Elf used the resulting spaces consistently and mercilessly. Introduced by Leroy Sané, who prevailed well on the left, the ball came back through a pass into the depths to Reus. The Dortmund cross missed Werner in the middle, but Gnabry was on the spot and scored his 18th goal and his 15th goal in a DFB competitive game.
On the sidelines, Flick looked very satisfied with his team’s persistent offensive urge. A right-footed shot from Sané landed on the crossbar (22nd), Werner initially missed the 3-0 after a mistake by the opposing defense by one step (28th). But the Chelsea striker put Reus’ goal artistically in the jump. Reus let himself be celebrated with a smile – the BVB captain offered a strong performance after extremely bad memories of the game against Armenia in June 2014, when he suffered a serious injury and then missed the World Cup and title win.
The newly formed DFB defense had little trouble keeping former BVB star Henrich Mchitarjan and Sargis Adamjan from Hoffenheim, who had been replaced during the break, in check. Adamjan’s shot in the 32nd minute was no problem for Neuer. Thilo Kehrer and Jonas Hofmann in the unfamiliar positions as full-backs were able to switch on the offensive again and again, in which football was suddenly very easy again. Joshua Kimmich was allowed to play unrestrictedly close to the penalty area on the starting Goretzka, who headed perfectly to Werner in front of the goal. 4-0.
Shortly after the restart, Hofmann cheered to loud applause about his first international goal – the DFB selection still did not decrease. The player from Gladbach took the ball straight from the edge of the penalty area after a corner kick that was initially blocked and overcame Armenia’s somewhat sluggish goalkeeper David Yurtschenko. After an hour, Flick changed three times: The 18-year-old youngsters Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz as well as Ilkay Gündogan came for Sané, Reus and Kimmich. The game had long been decided. Adeyemi with the Gerd Müller shirt number 13 and David Raum from Hoffenheim were allowed to collect their first international minutes. Adeyemi was even able to cheer again after a pass from Wirtz.
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