Despite the 4-2 win in the final group game against Costa Rica, the German national soccer team was eliminated in the preliminary round for the second time in a row at a World Cup.
National coach Hansi Flick spoke at the press conference after the game, among other things, about the reasons, the processing and his part in the end. A selection of quotes:
Flick when asked if Spain’s defeat annoyed him: “No, I never look at other teams. It’s up to us. The sum of the games contributed to us being eliminated. It’s our own fault, we have to take care of ourselves hold your own nose. We had enough chances to score, whether against Japan up to the 60th minute or against Spain at the end. Then you have to create those chances, then the conditions would have been different today.”
Flick about the game against Costa Rica: “In the first half we failed to get a clear result. If you score a second, third or fourth goal, you put pressure on the other game. We got that through carelessness and individual mistakes didn’t make it. Those are things that made me angry. I was really angry at half-time and I told the team that too. If there’s anything positive to draw from it, it’s that we came back. Kai Havertz turned the game around and brought new vigour, so that at least we go home with a win.”
Flick on the main reasons for the elimination: “I don’t want to look for excuses so much. We didn’t have much time for the automatisms, but that wasn’t the reason. The game against Spain would have been standard in terms of intensity, compactness and willingness to run. We did our duty today, but we can’t be satisfied with the game.”
Flick on coming to terms with it: “It’s difficult shortly after leaving. But anyone who knows me knows that we work through it very, very quickly and see what the future holds. It’s important how we want to implement our ideas. as far as the Euros are concerned. Even if it’s not the right moment to talk about the Euros straight after the game. It’s about catching up on things and pushing things in the right direction. We’ll do that very, very promptly.”
Flick on the question of whether Germany is still world class: “You have to factor in the results and being eliminated. Nevertheless, we have players who play for top clubs. I’ll say it: we have quality. It’s important for the future of German football that you do things differently in training.”
Flick on Jamal Musiala’s performance: “It’s difficult to single out someone after a game like that. But it’s a real shame that a player like that can’t play anymore, isn’t allowed to play anymore. His skills, which he has in one-on-one “, are really good. We’ll have really good talent in the next few years. Things are going in the right direction there, but we have to see what comes next. Jamal wasn’t trained in Germany, he was trained in England. But Kai Havertz showed what he can do today and we still have a few young players.”
Flick on the question of whether he has anything to blame himself for: “It’s definitely something that we discuss internally in our analysis. I’m always someone who is very critical and that will also be included in the analysis.”
