After the disappointing opener to the World Cup in Qatar, the attention of the national team is turned fully onto the second group game against Spain on Sunday. Head coach Hansi Flick spoke following the 2-1 loss to Japan about the reasons for their defeat and the game plan against Spain, who dismantled Costa Rica 7-0. DFB.de have summarised his most important answers.
Hansi Flick on...
...analysing the 2-1 defeat: We went through lots of footage within the coaching team yesterday evening and analysed them. We did lots of things well for over 70 minutes. When you go into detail, however, many things weren’t implemented as we had imagined. We have lots of good moments, which the team can take into the Spain game. It’s important within our analysis to look exactly at the areas where we did things with and without the ball. There were plenty of things that we can and need to do better. We have the quality. We had two or three great chances that you need to take to close the game out, to put a lid on it. At 2 or 3-0 we would have won the game. We were missing that efficiency in front of goal and then made too many mistakes at the back. I’m not looking at any specific individual because it’s the task of the whole side. That doesn’t mean that we aren’t going to address those things internally. We need to be measured against what we set out to do. There were some things, including from a tactical viewpoint that we simply need to and can do better with.
...the plan for the Spain game: We haven’t got any spare lives left now. That was the one bad performance we could make yesterday – and so that’s how we have to approach this next game. We need to show courage and character. We have to prove we can play better and every individual player improves so that we leave the group wide open for the final group game. We’re looking ahead now. We must show character on Sunday and try to make sure that we still have a chance heading into the final game. Our squad is a strong one, but we need to be more compact on the pitch and play with more unity, maintaining the intensity levels across the full 90 minutes. That was something we were lacking in the final 20 minutes against Japan.
…defensive weaknesses: “I always say this: you need everyone in tune up front, and at the back too. We just didn’t have that compactness in defence. Everyone needs the hunger to defend, you need to do that as a defender. When you are 1-0, you need to see it through, defend well and stand strong.
...possible changes against Spain: Every player and every position is up for discussion. It’s our job to set the team up so we have the best possible players for a given opponent. We won’t change the system, we haven’t gone that far – but we need to know the important factors against Spain and what we need to do.
...the team’s development: “Everyone needs to keep developing. The team has potential but we’re not achieving it yet. We’ve got confidence in the team and we’re feeling positive – and need to approach the Spain game as such. It’s important to process the loss, but clear our heads so we can focus on the next match. We have to get the team in a position where they can play the right way on Sunday. We have had four training sessions, which isn’t much to develop the team and foster a teamwork environment. We can and must do better.
...the team’s maturity: All eleven players from yesterday play in the Champions League, so I can’t say we’ve got a lack of experience. Of course we wanted to win the game and play our best, but we only managed that in part. Therefore, our criticism is justified.
...Ilkay Gündogan’s criticism: Ilkay’s opinion is fine. During a game it’s important to have the courage to step up under pressure – it was similar against Hungary (At Euro 2020).
...possible problems for Manuel Neuer: I’m not aware of him having any issues. He’s in top fitness. We could have stopped those two goals differently. Also it is important that everyone in the team plays their role.
...the status of Leroy Sané, who missed the last game: Leroy is on the pitch, but he’s training individually at the moment. The positive is, though that he is on the pitch.
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After the disappointing opener to the World Cup in Qatar, the attention of the national team is turned fully onto the second group game against Spain on Sunday. Head coach Hansi Flick spoke following the 2-1 loss to Japan about the reasons for their defeat and the game plan against Spain, who dismantled Costa Rica 7-0. DFB.de have summarised his most important answers.
Hansi Flick on...
...analysing the 2-1 defeat: We went through lots of footage within the coaching team yesterday evening and analysed them. We did lots of things well for over 70 minutes. When you go into detail, however, many things weren’t implemented as we had imagined. We have lots of good moments, which the team can take into the Spain game. It’s important within our analysis to look exactly at the areas where we did things with and without the ball. There were plenty of things that we can and need to do better. We have the quality. We had two or three great chances that you need to take to close the game out, to put a lid on it. At 2 or 3-0 we would have won the game. We were missing that efficiency in front of goal and then made too many mistakes at the back. I’m not looking at any specific individual because it’s the task of the whole side. That doesn’t mean that we aren’t going to address those things internally. We need to be measured against what we set out to do. There were some things, including from a tactical viewpoint that we simply need to and can do better with.
...the plan for the Spain game: We haven’t got any spare lives left now. That was the one bad performance we could make yesterday – and so that’s how we have to approach this next game. We need to show courage and character. We have to prove we can play better and every individual player improves so that we leave the group wide open for the final group game. We’re looking ahead now. We must show character on Sunday and try to make sure that we still have a chance heading into the final game. Our squad is a strong one, but we need to be more compact on the pitch and play with more unity, maintaining the intensity levels across the full 90 minutes. That was something we were lacking in the final 20 minutes against Japan.
…defensive weaknesses: “I always say this: you need everyone in tune up front, and at the back too. We just didn’t have that compactness in defence. Everyone needs the hunger to defend, you need to do that as a defender. When you are 1-0, you need to see it through, defend well and stand strong.
...possible changes against Spain: Every player and every position is up for discussion. It’s our job to set the team up so we have the best possible players for a given opponent. We won’t change the system, we haven’t gone that far – but we need to know the important factors against Spain and what we need to do.
...the team’s development: “Everyone needs to keep developing. The team has potential but we’re not achieving it yet. We’ve got confidence in the team and we’re feeling positive – and need to approach the Spain game as such. It’s important to process the loss, but clear our heads so we can focus on the next match. We have to get the team in a position where they can play the right way on Sunday. We have had four training sessions, which isn’t much to develop the team and foster a teamwork environment. We can and must do better.
...the team’s maturity: All eleven players from yesterday play in the Champions League, so I can’t say we’ve got a lack of experience. Of course we wanted to win the game and play our best, but we only managed that in part. Therefore, our criticism is justified.
...Ilkay Gündogan’s criticism: Ilkay’s opinion is fine. During a game it’s important to have the courage to step up under pressure – it was similar against Hungary (At Euro 2020).
...possible problems for Manuel Neuer: I’m not aware of him having any issues. He’s in top fitness. We could have stopped those two goals differently. Also it is important that everyone in the team plays their role.
...the status of Leroy Sané, who missed the last game: Leroy is on the pitch, but he’s training individually at the moment. The positive is, though that he is on the pitch.
