Exactly one year before the home European Championship kicked off, Hansi Flick and the national team in the very special 1000th international match against Ukraine caused another mood dampener. When the DFB returned to Bremen on Monday, after a temporary deficit, it was still 3: 3 (1: 2). As in the 2: 3 in the test match against Belgium at the end of March, the selection of the German Football Association in front of 35,795 spectators was again not suitable for a tournament.
Bremen’s local hero Niclas Füllkrug deflected a shot from Marius Wolf to make it 1-0 on his seventh goal in seven international matches (6th minute). Wiktor Zygankow (18′) and Antonio Rüdiger (23’/own goal) turned the game around for the guests with a double strike. The outstanding Zygankow (56th) increased later. Substitute Kai Havertz (83rd) and Joshua Kimmich with a penalty kick (90th 1) made the draw late.
As in the 2-3 friendly against Belgium at the end of March, in front of 35,795 spectators, the DFB team was once again unsuitable for a tournament, especially defensively. Loud “Ukraine” chants could be heard in the Weser Stadium.
Even if the charity game was dedicated to supporting Ukraine, it was a sportingly questionable evening from the DFB’s point of view. There were also whistles for the filling jug substitution at the break. The pressure on Flick increases before further tests in Poland and against Colombia.
That it was more than just football was clear on this symbolic day with high summer temperatures in the Bremen Arena. “Stop War – We Together for Peace” was written on an oversized Ukrainian flag outside the stadium. Both teams, accompanied by 22 refugee children, ran into the stadium and Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the Ukrainian Ambassador Oleksii Makeiev watched the game side by side from the stands.
Steinmeier described the game as “a sign of friendship and solidarity”. At the same time, the politician on ZDF warned: “We mustn’t overwhelm football games like this. (…) But of course a football game can’t change anything in a war situation. We do that, that’s what politics does by giving support for those who were ambushed by Russia’s army. And we must hope that Ukraine will decisively turn this war around in the coming weeks.”
