National coach Hansi Flick made two changes in the second World Cup group game of the German national soccer team against Spain.
Leon Goretzka and Thilo Kehrer are new in the starting lineup at the Al Bait Stadium compared to the 2-1 false start against Japan. Kai Havertz and Nico Schlotterbeck have to go to the bench for this. Kehrer moves to the right-back position, while Niklas Süle switches to central defense alongside Antonio Rüdiger. Kehrer made “a good impression,” said Flick on ZDF.
center condensed
Goretzka joins Joshua Kimmich and Ilkay Gündogan in midfield. “We have to make sure that we close the center,” said Flick about the alignment. The Bayern trio Thomas Müller, Jamal Musiala and Serge Gnabry forms the offensive.
“We all came here with anticipation because these are exactly the games that you want as a footballer. It’s about something, we can prove and show what a good team we are,” said Flick. “Spain have a really great team. We have to show that we’ve arrived at the World Cup.”
The German team is led by Manuel Neuer. The captain is playing his 18th World Cup game and is catching up as goalkeeper with record holders Sepp Maier and Claudio Taffarel from Brazil.
After Costa Rica’s 1-0 win against Japan, the DFB selection cannot be eliminated early, even if they lose again to Spain. The decision on progression will only be made in the last group game against Costa Rica on Thursday.
The German starting eleven:
Neuer – Kehrer, Süle, Rüdiger, Raum – Kimmich – Goretzka, Gündogan – Gnabry, Müller, Musiala
