DFB team: Flick praises BVB professional Emre Can – FC Bayern’s Kimmich warns

Winner in loser

Despite the defeat against Belgium, there was one winner in the German team. When Emre Can (29) came onto the pitch with the score at 0:2 after the completely unsuccessful first half hour, the Dortmunder tore the entire German national team with him. “I tried to do what I do best: be active in duels and be present and help the team,” said the midfielder, who carried his teammates away with his physical presence and duel strength, in the “ARD” Interview.

This was confirmed by national coach Hansi Flick, who took the right action by substituting Cans. “You have to say that Emre showed what defensive quality he has after coming on. He was, if you will, the aggressive leader we needed. He won a lot of duels and shook the team awake,” said Flick after the 2: 3 on Tuesday evening in Cologne.

Can initially suffered as a substitute on the bench. “We were just too passive, not present in the duels,” he said: “We didn’t intervene, we didn’t fight back. Then it will be difficult against a country like Belgium.” Then he came onto the pitch and the system was adjusted. Can vigorously defended himself against the strong Belgians – and his colleagues suddenly won duels as well. Can is back after Flick nominated him for internationals for the first time in his tenure after good performances in Dortmund. Can used his comeback opportunity and jumped on the train towards the 2024 home European Championship.

National coach Hansi Flick not “super happy” about the DFB team’s performance

Flick didn’t want to get loud because of the performance. Neither in the dressing room with his players, nor afterwards in the public analysis of the unpleasant and relentless evening in Cologne. The national coach spoke softly and obviously chose his words with care. “I don’t think I’m going to say here now, we’re super happy and everything is wonderful. That would be the wrong approach,” said Flick. Even at the team meeting, which was quickly convened in the stadium immediately after the final whistle of the 2: 3 setback, everything remained calm and factual, reported Flick.

In principle, the national coach does not want to let the restart towards the home EM make it mad despite the disastrous initial phase against the “Red Devils”. “It was a good game for 60, 65 minutes,” he said. That sounded surprising and in the evaluation a bit like that World Cup analysis, according to which only 10 to 20 bad minutes in the 1: 2 against Japan would have caused the German knockout in the preliminary round in Qatar. But Flick can no longer close his eyes to German football reality.

The 2-0 win against Peru was another important step towards building up against a weak opponent. The bar Belgium has now been torn. “We still have a lot to do. It was clear to us that not everything was 100 percent,” assured the 58-year-old. After all, the national coach recorded passion and will as plus points after the shock start with the early goals conceded by Yannick Carrasco (29) and Romelu Lukaku (29).

DFB team: Captain Kimmich does not yet see an international level

“We weren’t there at all, both physically and mentally. We missed everything we set out to do,” said captain Joshua Kimmich (28), who couldn’t help the team either. “It was important that we showed a reaction from the 30th minute, but it was still not enough,” added the Bayern professional in the “ARD” interview.

Flick was happy about the surprisingly friendly encouragement from the Cologne fans. They acted as if there had been no World Cup and no Belgian lesson. The final spurt of the season in the Bundesliga, with Bayern Munich’s top game against Borussia Dortmund as the first major stimulus on Saturday, is another aspect that makes Flick positive. The national coach will have to take a close look in the coming weeks to see who can help him when the 1,000th international match in DFB history is likely against Ukraine in Bremen in June.

His personnel policy with many young players – including five newcomers – makes him satisfied with “the knowledge we have gained”. A return of the established forces from Antonio Rüdiger (30) to Ilkay Gündogan (32) or Leroy Sané (27) can still be expected.

In June there will probably also be a showdown with Robert Lewandowski in Poland – another top-class player like Lukaku, who can mercilessly show Flick deficits. The big test – and that’s good for Flick – won’t come until the summer of 2024 with the European Championships at home. “Fortunately we still have a little time. Today you noticed that we are not yet at the top international level,” admitted Kimmich.

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