In a fatherly manner, tournament veteran Manuel Neuer put his arm around Youssoufa Moukoko and strolled off the press podium together with the 18-year-old World Cup teenager. The harmony of the football generations could only please Hansi Flick and Oliver Bierhoff.
Between the first two sweaty sessions in the German national soccer team’s training stronghold in Al-Shamal, the Bayern goalkeeper and the BVB striker demonstrated a mixture of concentration and optimism. Bierhoff had requested this shortly before the difficult opening game against Japan on Wednesday (2 p.m. / ARD and MagentaTV).
DFB team for Bierhoff “not the tournament favourite”
“We’ll have to be prepared for the fact that this will be a tough fight. It won’t be magic,” was Bierhoff’s World Cup prophecy. “We’ve been warned to be fully focused from the first minute. Then anything is possible with the team,” said the 54-year-old.
The German team is “not the tournament favorite” for Bierhoff in Qatar, but still a candidate for winning the title. Topics outside of sport, such as the debate about Neuer’s one-love captain’s armband or, even more so, the Qatari hosts’ ban on beer for fans in the World Cup stadiums shouldn’t distract.
With two short, loud whistles in his red whistle, Flick started the countdown to the Japan test in the morning when the temperatures were already considerable. The time for acclimatization and relaxation at the Zulal Wellness Resort team quarters is over. A second session was scheduled after lunch. Flick had already chosen this day, known as “Matchday minus 4” in FIFA jargon, as a milestone in his tightly lashed World Cup plan. “The focus on Japan begins,” proclaimed the national coach.
The 36-year-old team senior Neuer also made it clear how important a successful start to the tournament is before his fourth World Cup finals. If you are successful, you can “get into a flow” as a team, as in the 4-0 win against Portugal before winning the title in 2014. The counter-example was the 0-1 draw against Mexico four years ago in Russia. At that time, the DFB-Elf was eliminated after the group phase – a historical disgrace.
Müller and Rüdiger on course – question marks behind the filling jug
Thomas Müller and Antonio Rüdiger gave positive signals. The top performers who were recently injured were able to fully complete the first team training session. Concrete forecasts were still difficult after the first major impact. The Bayern veteran and the Real defensive giant were unable to play for weeks due to muscular problems and hip problems. For Flick, they are crucial World Cup building blocks.
A new question mark meant the training failure of center forward Niclas Füllkrug due to a flu infection. Bierhoff indirectly gave the all-clear. “You can’t make an exact prediction,” he said, looking ahead to the first group game. However, the DFB doctors believed that there would be enough time for the 29-year-old to be ready for the World Cup opener after his winning goal to make it 1-0 in the last World Cup test in Oman.
Bierhoff sees all possibilities for Flick in the line-up at the Chalifa International Stadium. “It would be bad if Hansi had no options, that would give me a headache,” said Bierhoff. The national coach already has the core of the starting eleven in mind.
The candidate for the position in the storm center is still being sought. The 33-year-old Müller would be a promising option with the experience of ten World Cup goals since 2010 – in top form. No player represented in Qatar has scored more times in World Cup finals than Bayern Munich.
Moukoko comes of age
Müller’s body language indicated the necessary resilience. Full of energy and with typical Müller-Schalk he gave Moukoko a piggyback ride. “I’m learning from the best here,” said the man from Dortmund, who, as the youngest German World Cup participant, will be celebrating his 18th birthday on Sunday in the unusual setting of the luxury hotel on the northern tip of Qatar. “Three points against Japan, the first World Cup game is very important,” was his biggest birthday wish.
Neuer could still remember his 18th birthday clearly. He celebrated it – before Moukoko was even born – with friends in Gelsenkirchen-Buer at bowling. Bierhoff initially only announced a low-calorie cake from DFB chef Anton Schmaus as a present for Moukoko and a serenade from his colleagues. “We like to party after a game we’ve won.”
