Disillusioned, but allegedly not yet worried: Hansi Flick does not want to let his first defeat as national coach throw him off the World Cup concept.
“No,” said Flick on “ZDF” when asked whether the bitter 0-1 (0-1) in the Nations League against Hungary worried him with a view to the finals in Qatar in two months, “such games will come before.”
However, Flick admitted: “We now know what it’s about, that opened our eyes.” This happens to the German national soccer team “rather now than in November. The team has been woken up, that’s good for us. The defeat doesn’t knock us down.”
The national coach (57) attributed part of the blame to himself. “We wanted to try something with Jonas (Hofmann) on the right back, with two defenders who play well. I have to take some responsibility for that, we never got where we could use them, it didn’t work.”
Flick reacted in the second half and pulled Hofmann forward for the weak Serge Gnabry, with substitute Thilo Kehrer playing on the right side of defence. Despite an increase in performance by the DFB team, the goal from long-time Bundesliga professional Adam Szalai (17th) remained.
The press conference with flick to read:
Mr Flick, this is the first time you have lost a game as national coach. What insights will you take away with you?
Hansi Flick (57, national coach): This defeat annoys us. We all imagined something different. The first half was the worst half in the last 14 games. Little courage, little dynamism, little intensity, many mistakes. The second half was better, but we didn’t create enough scoring chances.
What does this defeat mean for the World Cup?
The defeat may have come at the right time. The first half opened our eyes. We have to draw conclusions from that and do better next time. Defeat doesn’t knock us down. We’re more angry now than at the World Cup. The team has been woken up, which is good for us.
How do you feel after the game, what emotions do you have?
I’m absolutely disappointed because as a footballer you don’t like to lose. From time to time you shouldn’t let your emotions out completely. We have to learn something and take it with us.
Your players have shown themselves to be quite self-critical. But why wasn’t the team awake just two months before the World Cup? It’s about places in the starting eleven.
A good question. Such games are always inconvenient. I don’t want to look for excuses. We tried something. I decided on a line-up that didn’t work that well. The way we approached the game, we can do a lot better. The time for experiments is over.
What was your idea of bringing Jonas Hofmann back to the right again?
We wanted to try something with Jonas on the right back, with two defenders who play well. We wanted to see two attacking full-backs. As a result, we didn’t have the processes quite the same. I have to take that on my cap a bit. We never got where to use them, it didn’t work.
In terms of sport, Monday in England is about nothing. What does this mean for the game?
Nothing changes from the default. I expect every single player to work on themselves. Only then will we get the conviction and quality we need. That’s an incentive for every single player to give it their all on Monday and use the six weeks after that to be prepared. We have to see that we play better over 90 minutes against England.
They didn’t keep a clean sheet again. Do you see a recurring pattern?
You don’t score a goal like that every day. But I didn’t think we’d create so few chances to score because we’ve got so much quality up front. We have to strengthen the players in what we set out to do.
Did the game increase the odds for the players who weren’t there?
Those who aren’t there have their chance. We take a close look and see what development each individual player is making.
More voices:
Thomas Müller: “The first half was really disappointing. We made a lot of mistakes. It was noticeable that the phase in the club is not the easiest for many people. We didn’t get the power on the pitch. A lot was better in the second half, but the 1-0 is now in the books, so we have to put up with criticism. But we have to stand above that and continue to follow the coach’s concept.”
Joshua Kimmich: “Especially in the first half we didn’t happen at all and we missed everything. We were far too slow in passing and made far too many mistakes. Winning the group in the Nations League was the clear goal, even if you did it in the first half didn’t notice.”
Jonas Hofmann: “The first half just sucked. We overslept a lot. We were dominant in the second but didn’t create a few 100% chances. That must be a lesson for us. That wasn’t enough for the most part. It’s annoying, it hurts, but the defeat doesn’t knock us out, we keep going.”