Amsterdam (AP) – When it came to the hot topic of the World Cup draw, Hansi Flick briefly put on a poker face and gave Mister Cool.
The short trip to Qatar, which is more than 30 degrees during the day, to draw the three German group opponents this Friday (6:00 p.m.) is unlikely to get the national coach’s heart rate up as much as the interim test on the way to the World Cup, which is so informative for the national coach. Tournament against arch-rivals Netherlands at times.
The 90 minutes of football at the top level with the 1-1, which everyone felt was fair, provided Flick with a good working basis for the next meeting of the national team in June. “We can look forward to the Nations League games,” said the 57-year-old, referring to four games against Italy (twice), England and Hungary within ten days.
World title remains the goal
The goal of the world title, which was offensively proclaimed by the national coach and also by captain Manuel Neuer, was not damaged despite the broken winning streak under Flick in Amsterdam. Rather, it demonstrated the existing potential in a squad that was missing a number of top performers such as the Bayern quartet Kimmich, Goretzka, Süle and Gnabry at the start of the year. But Flick also addressed the shortcomings: ball losses, lack of calm in critical phases, incorrect positioning.
Of course, that didn’t change anything about Flick’s overall impression: “It was a successful game.” And neither does the view. “German football has a tradition of success. We want to go back there,” announced the head coach, looking back on the early failure at the 2018 World Cup and the 2021 European Championship in the late phase of Joachim Löw’s work.
After a short change of clothes at home in Bammental, Flick jetted off again on Thursday with a DFB delegation led by Oliver Bierhoff to the World Cup host country, a six-hour flight away. Upset? Tense? scared even? None of that. After many years as a Löw assistant, Flick is a draw professional. “We just have to sit there, watch and then give our opinion on the group. We’ll see what’s coming and try to make the best of it,” he said.
DFB team in pot two
what can come Like Holland, four-time world champion Germany is in the second lottery pot. You could get Belgium, Brazil, France, Argentina, England, Spain, Portugal or hosts Qatar from pot one. A maximum of one European opponent can be drawn for the DFB team. Since three of the 32 World Cup participants have not yet been determined, it could also happen that Flick only knows two of the three German preliminary round opponents after the ceremony.
The German group could be challenging and well-known – Brazil, Poland, Cameroon. Or sound like a bye: Qatar, Canada, Tunisia. Flick made a promise in advance: “We will prepare well for the tasks that we are given.”
In any case, Bonds coach Louis van Gaal immediately raised Duitsland to the group of the greatest contenders for the World Cup crown. “Germany is a top candidate for the World Cup title,” said the former Bayern coach as he analyzed the test match over coffee and biscuits shortly before midnight: “We couldn’t break free from the pressure from the Germans in the first half. But ours second half was fantastic.”
“Simply refreshing”
Flick had previously sat on the podium in the press room and sounded more enthusiastic after his first game as head coach than after all eight wins against international lightweights before. “Simply refreshing”, he found the dominant first 60 minutes with Thomas Müller’s opening goal, who scored for the 43rd time in the national jersey and thus overtook honorary captain Uwe Seeler in eighth place.
“I know that we have to perform like this for 90 minutes. But the intensity of the team was extremely high,” Flick summed up. “The direction is right,” said Müller. Bayern colleague Neuer judged: “If you draw a line under it, we’re on the right track. It was the first big team we played against – and for long stretches it was decent.”
But there was also a phase of loss of control after the break with Steven Bergwijn’s equalizing goal (68th minute) and the luck of a penalty taken back after video evidence after a duel between Thilo Kehrer and Memphis Depay. “It was a great game for the spectators. All in all, I’m very satisfied,” said Flick.
Big winner Musiala
He takes a lot of knowledge with him from the first course in 2022. The big winner of the week was Jamal Musiala. The 19-year-old Bayern talent even catapulted himself to “an option” in the important six-point position with a bold appearance, as Flick said: “Everyone saw the quality he had.” The highly praised also verbally outgrows the “Bambi” status. “I’m doing well. I’m on the right track,” said Musiala confidently.
The U21 European champions Nico Schlotterbeck and David Raum, who could have scored 2-0, were also able to score points for a World Cup ticket. “The squad is getting bigger and bigger,” said Flick happily. He fended off the popular question about squad positions that had already been taken: “There’s still a long way to go until November. So much can still happen there.”
Hardship cases are indicated. “It makes it a bit more difficult for us, but it’s good for the quality of the team,” said Flick: “We’re happy that the plan worked out in March, when we wanted to try things out.” And even without a win.