Lahm reassured: Alarming numbers – interest in the national team is falling more and more

Football Lahm appeased

Alarming numbers – interest in the national team is falling more and more

As of: 4:51 p.m. | Reading time: 3 minutes

“It all went haywire,” says Flick after the international debacle

After the next setback for the national team, national coach Hansi Flick was self-critical. “It went completely wrong,” said the 58-year-old after the once again disappointing performance of the DFB-Elf against Colombia – and announced the consequences.

The desolate performances of the national team are also reflected in the fans. One year before the European Championships at home, interest in the team continues to decline. For tournament director Philipp Lahm, that’s no reason to worry, he’s counting on the principle of hope.

When chasing appointments through football Germany, Philipp Lahm wanted to talk as little as possible about the difficult situation in the national team. But of course the chief organizer of the home European Championship was also confronted with the result crisis of the DFB-Elf and the dwindling standing of national coach Hansi Flick at an advertising event for Euro 2024 in Hamburg. What the honorary captain said ultimately only sounded like a slogan of perseverance and a principle of hope.

“There’s still a bit to go,” said Lahm. “There are still enough games to create a spirit of optimism,” said the 39-year-old. A strong national team is not only important for the European Championships, but for all competitions, said Lahm. Nevertheless, it would “of course be helpful if the German national team played football more successfully again from September,” added the 2014 world champion captain and quickly made his way to Munich for the next appointment.

Lahm with the still nameless EM mascot

Those: dpa/Federico Gambarini

The DFB honorary captain drums as best he can for the European Championships, for which he is largely responsible, and the cheers that greet him from the mostly very young fans in Hamburg could only reinforce the impression that Lahm is currently receiving more encouragement than Flick after the completely unsuccessful June hat-trick DFB-Elf. In any case, the interest of German citizens in the national team has decreased after the recent disappointments. This was the result of a representative survey by the opinion research institute Yougov on the days surrounding the 0: 2 against Colombia on Tuesday evening.

“The situation is very serious” – Germany also loses against Colombia

Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Benjamin Henrichs show understanding for the displeasure of the fans after the defeat against Colombia. Despite the three friendlies without a win, the players support their coach and focus on their own performance.

37 percent of those surveyed stated that they were no longer as interested in the DFB selection, only five percent had increased interest. For the vast majority, however, the current crisis is apparently not decisive. 58 percent said that their interest in the performances of the national team had not changed recently – however, it is unclear whether this was from a high or low level.

Only 17 percent believe in another summer fairy tale

And the poll numbers for Flick itself are also a sign of an indecisive or, in the worst case, even indifferent football nation. Only 22 percent are of the opinion that Flick should also look after the DFB team at the EM 2024.

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Despite the frustrating record of the three international matches in June with the 3: 3 against Ukraine and the 0: 1 in Poland even before the final disappointment against Colombia, there is no clear rejection of Flick. 26 percent said Flick should no longer be in office at the tournament in summer 2024. The vast majority, 52 percent, has no opinion on the future of the recently hapless national coach.

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On the other hand, only 17 percent of those surveyed believe that a new summer fairy tale like that of the 2006 home World Cup is possible. Skepticism here is high at 48 percent. 35 percent expressed no opinion as to whether Germany would succumb to the collective football frenzy again at the EM in twelve months.

At this point, Lahm now has to continue. And he would like support from nearby countries. They want to welcome numerous international fans to Germany. “Of course we also hope that our neighboring countries will be there,” said the 39-year-old in Hamburg. He hopes “that everyone who is close to us will really be there – and bring a lot of fans with them”. Happy and hopeful fans, of course.