“Football is a sport that is played eleven against eleven, and in the end, Germany wins”. If the translation of the now well-known media release of English striker Gary Lineker is not entirely accurate compared to the original in VO: «Football is a simple game ; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win»this sentence dating from 1990 was once again confirmed this Thursday evening. Heartthrob, in pain, from Costa Rica (4-2), Germany, carried by the double of Kai Havertz, has (again) won. Yes but now, no longer in control of its destiny at kick-off, Germany could not cope with anything the resounding victory of Japan against Spain (2-1).
A historic elimination…
More than the feat achieved by the Blue Samurai, already winners of the Mannschaft on the first day, this success definitively condemned Joshua Kimmich’s teammates. A sad ending logically leading to frustration in the German ranks. “We shouldn’t have lost the first match (against Japan). We should have won tonight, scored more. I don’t believe (that Germany expected a good result from Spain). We did not have much success, we had opportunities that we did not know how to seize. It would be too easy to say it’s Spain’s fault, it’s our fault.”assured for his part Antonio Rüdiger on beIN SPORTS. Questioned, also, at the end of the meeting, Thomas Müller announced, him, that it was surely about his last match with the German selection.
“It’s an absolute disaster! I don’t know what will happen next. If this was my last game, then I would like to say a few words to German football fans. It was a great pleasure, dear people. We have had great times. I tried to put my heart into the pitch every game. I always showed commitment and sometimes there were tears of joy because of my actions, sometimes the spectators also had pain in their faces. Even though I didn’t succeed in all the actions, I did it with love. I’ll have to see for everything else.”assured, with this in mind, the Bavarian striker at the microphone ofARD.
Hansi Flick, the man for the job?
Invited to speak about the disaster of his family, Hansi Flick did not hide his disappointment. “I’m not speechless, I can also interpret the game very well. At half-time I was disappointed, I was really angry. The way we made the opponent strong. We had endless opportunities. We put the opponent in the match by mistakes and facilities on our part. It was not good”analyzed, first of all, the German coach before clarifying his remarks. “Despite everything, it must be said that we won the match, we could very well have won it more broadly. Elimination was not decided today, but in 20 minutes against Japan. Even against Spain we could have scored the 2:1 at the end. We weren’t effective in this tournament. That’s why we were eliminated. The disappointment is of course immense. We have to digest that first”.
Relaunched by Bastian Schweinsteiger on possible lacks in mentality, Flick nevertheless wanted to defend the state of mind of his people. “We conceded goals, we made mistakes. That the team is not on fire, I do not see it. She wanted it. In the first half precisely, there was certainly a little disappointment after the missed opportunities. We tried to do better in the second half. We also knew that Costa Rica was very dangerous on standard situations. These are things we can do better. We no longer have any chance of doing better at the World Cup. That’s why we’re now going home. We helped bring us home.”confessed, coldly, the strong man of the Germans before delivering his feelings on the future of German football.
“I think for the future of German football we have to do things differently in training. For many years we talked about new goalkeepers, new full-backs. What has always been good about German football is that we defended well. We need these elements, we need basic things (…) We have to try to follow a different path and this is one of the steps that we have to take now, and we will do it quickly”. Questioned, finally, on his future, the former technician of Bayern Munich left room for doubt. “We’ll sort it out quickly, it’s hard to respond now right after the game when we’re knocked out. We will see that soon”. A new cycle to come for the German selection? Answer in the next few days…
2 – Germany have failed to pass the group stage in each of the last 2 World Cups, despite having passed the first round in their previous 16 appearances. Auf Wiedersehen. #CRCGER #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/XWrs33RSJT
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) December 1, 2022
