At the end of the season, the German national soccer team meets Colombia in the last of three mood tests. The game at 8.45 p.m. (RTL) in Gelsenkirchen is, after recent sobering performances, an important position determination for the selection of national coach Hansi Flick, who has come under increasing pressure.
“Everyone knows the signs: Of course we want to win this game,” said Flick. Champions League winner Ilkay Gündogan, who was missing in the squad against Ukraine and was rested in Warsaw, will certainly play in the Schalke Arena. Flick also confirmed that 21-year-old Malick Thiaw will play in the starting eleven, as he did in Poland.
Flick: “It’s all about the result first”
The national team boss, who has come under heavy criticism, wants to show the at least 45,000 fans in the stadium that his DFB selection can still win. The first two tests in the international hat-trick against Ukraine (3-3) and Poland (0-1) did not go according to plan at all. “It’s all about the result,” said Flick.
Maybe a small change of mood will succeed with Champions League winner Gündogan, even if he was reluctant to be pushed into the role of savior. “I don’t see myself like that,” said the 32-year-old. In the first game after the triple triumph with Manchester City a week and a half ago, a rested Gündogan wants to go ahead. “I think I can bring a lot of positive energy to the game because of the last few weeks and also some calmness,” he said. At the same time, after the previous games without him, he warned: “We must not resort to actionism.”
Unlike Croatia and Spain, the Colombians, with Eintracht Frankfurt attacker Rafael Borré known from the Bundesliga, are not in the top ten in the FIFA world rankings. But in 17th place, they are well ahead of the first DFB test opponents Ukraine (30th) and Poland (23rd). And they are unbeaten under national coach Nestor Lorenzo (five wins, two draws).
