Flick’s DFB squad is getting smaller: Salzburg striker Adeyemi has to pass

Games vs. Israel and Netherlands

Hansi Flick is the first. Even before his coaching staff and the arrival of the Qatar candidates he had selected, including newcomer Anton Stach and returnee Julian Weigl, the national coach wanted to be the first to arrive at the team hotel in Gravenbruch near Frankfurt, where the national team still resided regularly at the time of team boss Rudi Völler at the beginning of the millennium .

Good preparation is everything for Flick at the start of the 2022 World Cup with the test match next Saturday in Sinsheim against Israel and the classic against the Netherlands three days later in Amsterdam as the first tests. Flick finds the Oranje duel with coach Louis van Gaal particularly appealing. Of course everything is subordinate to the tournament highlight in eight months in the Arabian Gulf.

“One of our goals is to get stability. Every player has to work on himself, not only tactically, but also physically,” Flick described a key topic after the meeting of his squad, which had changed due to several cancellations in several positions, on Monday evening. On Sunday, Flick had to drop another player. Karim Adeyemi (20) from Red Bull Salzburg will miss the DFB start to the year because of a muscle problem in his thigh. A subsequent nomination is not planned, the DFB said.

DFB coach Flick: “We saw how quickly the squad was reduced”

Flick knows there are a lot of distractions these days. The war in Ukraine also occupies the national coach very much. “It’s not that easy to sit here and feel the expectations that everyone has when you see the images that are leaked from Ukraine,” said the 57-year-old, explaining the difficulties of focusing on the minor matter of football . Flick described the international matches as a “distraction” for “all the people who are worried about what will happen in the future.”

The DFB team should continue to be tested stringently for corona in order to quickly identify possible infections like before the November international matches against Liechtenstein (9-0) and in Armenia (4-1). “We saw how quickly the squad was reduced,” Flick recalled the unpleasant days last in Wolfsburg. That’s why he still has 25 players with him this time.

Since fixed greats such as Leon Goretzka, Niklas Süle, Marco Reus, Robin Gosens, Jonas Hofmann or young star Florian Wirtz are missing due to injuries or a lack of training, Benfica professional Weigl, Benjamin Henrichs or Robin Koch are also coming to the DFB comeback. World champion Julian Draxler is also allowed to audition after a 17-month DFB break.

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