The news is in: Hansi Flick has announced his squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The Germany squad making the journey to the winter tournament consists of 26 players. After the squad announcement, the national team’s coach spoke to the press about new players in the squad, returnees and the absences. DFB.de has all the latest from the press conference.
Hansi Flick on…
… the situation in Qatar: We’re looking forward to the tournament but have taken notice of what is going on in Qatar. It’s shocking. It’s extremely important for the players to concentrate on the sport so they can play good football, but they also have to address the human rights situation in Qatar. We don’t want to avoid the issue, we rather want to highlight the wrongdoings. That is what the DFB and our national team stands for.
… his World Cup squad: We’ve shared our thoughts amongst ourselves as a coaching staff and discussed who our 26 players should be openly. We’re taking a very good squad with us.
… the goalkeepers: We had some thoughts about taking a fourth goalkeeper with us, but ended up deciding to take three, as many other nations are.
… the defence: I think nine defenders is enough, and a few of them can play in several positions, which gives us versatility. We’re very happy with that.
… the midfield and attack: We’ve got two new players in Youssoufa Moukoko and Niclas Füllkrug. We’re delighted for the pair of them – with Timo Werner and Lukas Nmecha out, they could give us that special something. Mario Götze is also in the team for the first time since 2017. Mario was delighted, and we’re looking forward to seeing him. He gives us a lot of possibilities to surprise our opponents in our style of play. We’re absolutely delighted to have a player with his qualities in the squad.
… Mario Götze: We looked at how he was performing and what he could offer us. We know he has a great feel for the game and some flashes of inspiration. In the last few games we saw of him, he performed at a top level. The workload he was under at the start of the season pushed him to his limits, but now he’s back to full fitness and can play the full 90 minutes three times a week. He’s a brilliant footballer and an even better person.
… the nominations of Youssoufa Moukoko and Niclas Füllkrug: Both have improved fantastically this season. Niclas has scored 10 goals so far and is in fantastic form. I spoke with his coach at Werder Bremen, Ole Werner, about how he acts around the team. The feedback from Ole was nothing but positive: Niclas is a man who constantly looks to improve himself and will give the team trust and the confidence to believe in themselves. He can fulfil whatever role he needs to. Youssoufa is just on a fantastic path of development. He’s quick, lively and has a great shot. We’re looking forward to seeing him.
… Lukas Klostermann and Armel Bella Kotchap’s nominations: It might be a bit surprising for some people that we’ve nominated Lukas Klostermann. We’ve been in close discussions with Lukas, though, who we see as a right-back. He played fantastically in the Nations League games over the summer. We’ve watched him closely, and we’ve spoken a lot with Marco Rose, who has told me that Lukas is 100% fit. We believe that he can help us a lot as the tournament goes on. Armel Bella Kotchap is fit, and he will be playing for his club this weekend.
... Karim Adeyemi’s inclusion in the squad: We think he’s a real weapon in our arsenal. He’s a player who can give us an impact in certain moments, with his speed, shooting and the final pass.
… Mats Hummels’ absence from the team: We looked at a lot of his games: Mats is in great form, fully fit and helping Dortmund a lot. We had to make our decisions with one eye on the future, though, and decided to plan for the future here – it’s nothing against Mats himself. We have four central defenders who have a huge amount of quality in Niklas Süle, Matthias Ginter, Antonio Rüdiger and Nico Schlotterbeck, so you can understand why we also picked a younger player in Armel Bella Kotchap. Turning someone down is not an easy thing – it shatters the dreams of going to the World Cup. Mats is disappointed, but he’s picked his head up, and I think that’s a great thing.
… not calling up Robin Gosens: Robin has not had many appearances over the last year. I think he can understand our decision – it has nothing at all to do with his quality, just that he’s been out of practice. We need players who have been playing, so that they are always aware and anticipating the game, especially on the wings. Christian Günter is one of those players who offers the team a lot with his style of play, and he’s played almost every game in the last two years.
… Marco Reus’ absence: I like him a lot as a player; he has strengths that would help any team. He’ll be a big miss for us. He tried everything to recover, but an injury like he has needs time to heal properly. We had to decide if we could risk including him in the squad, because it wasn’t clear when he would be able to play. It hurts a lot, because his quality is something that we could have done with.
… Florian Wirtz: We could have done with his quality too, but he has had a very serious injury and has only just returned to training with his club. The most important thing for him is that he is back to full health in January, so he can then give his all for the tasks at hand with both us and Bayer Leverkusen. It’s the right thing to do, for him to work on his match readiness at the moment.
… the situation with Antonio Rüdiger: Toni is the boss of our defence. We’re happy that he’s here with us. We had no doubts about him and were in close discussions with the medical department of Real Madrid. There are no doubts or question marks over any of the players in our squad.
… the latest on Thomas Müller: We’re communicating with Thomas a lot. He’s recovered well and I’m sure that he hasn’t been as well-prepared for a World Cup as he is for this one. He’s coming to us in good fitness, and we’re hoping that he can make an appearance for us against Oman.
… the pre-tournament friendly in Oman: The trip to Oman is important, because the German weather in November doesn’t always play ball. It will help us get used to the temperature and lose a bit of the jet lag. We’ll fly to Qatar quickly after the friendly in Oman, so that we can spend the first days looking at who needs what in terms of recovery and regeneration. We’ll acclimatise first, and then get started on training four days before our first game. That’s when focus will switch to Japan.
… the strong form of the FC Bayern players: I’m happy to see the Bayern players performing so well. It’s great for us and gives us some confidence. The block of Bayern players is only a small part of the squad, though – we need every player to take on the challenge and show us why they are in the squad, in training. They need to have absolute focus in training; only then can we have a good tournament.
… the tactical effects of the absences in attack: We have a lot of attackers who can play in several positions. To put our opponents under pressure, we need players who can run hard and work well off the ball. We have a lot of options in terms of playing with the ball; several players can fill those roles. Lots of things that we can’t prepare for can happen, though, so we’re very happy that our squad still has a lot of options within it.
… assistant coach Hermann Gerland: I’m happy that he’s here. I like him a lot – he has a lot of experience which he can pass on to us. He can improve players that little bit. It’s important to have a good coaching staff, so that even those players who aren’t playing each and every game are properly prepared.
… opening opponents, Japan: I like Japanese football a lot – there are several Japanese players playing in Germany. Japan are a team who can play football very well, so they will be a very good challenge for us in our first game.
created by mmc/lc
###more###
The news is in: Hansi Flick has announced his squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The Germany squad making the journey to the winter tournament consists of 26 players. After the squad announcement, the national team’s coach spoke to the press about new players in the squad, returnees and the absences. DFB.de has all the latest from the press conference.
Hansi Flick on…
… the situation in Qatar: We’re looking forward to the tournament but have taken notice of what is going on in Qatar. It’s shocking. It’s extremely important for the players to concentrate on the sport so they can play good football, but they also have to address the human rights situation in Qatar. We don’t want to avoid the issue, we rather want to highlight the wrongdoings. That is what the DFB and our national team stands for.
… his World Cup squad: We’ve shared our thoughts amongst ourselves as a coaching staff and discussed who our 26 players should be openly. We’re taking a very good squad with us.
… the goalkeepers: We had some thoughts about taking a fourth goalkeeper with us, but ended up deciding to take three, as many other nations are.
… the defence: I think nine defenders is enough, and a few of them can play in several positions, which gives us versatility. We’re very happy with that.
… the midfield and attack: We’ve got two new players in Youssoufa Moukoko and Niclas Füllkrug. We’re delighted for the pair of them – with Timo Werner and Lukas Nmecha out, they could give us that special something. Mario Götze is also in the team for the first time since 2017. Mario was delighted, and we’re looking forward to seeing him. He gives us a lot of possibilities to surprise our opponents in our style of play. We’re absolutely delighted to have a player with his qualities in the squad.
… Mario Götze: We looked at how he was performing and what he could offer us. We know he has a great feel for the game and some flashes of inspiration. In the last few games we saw of him, he performed at a top level. The workload he was under at the start of the season pushed him to his limits, but now he’s back to full fitness and can play the full 90 minutes three times a week. He’s a brilliant footballer and an even better person.
… the nominations of Youssoufa Moukoko and Niclas Füllkrug: Both have improved fantastically this season. Niclas has scored 10 goals so far and is in fantastic form. I spoke with his coach at Werder Bremen, Ole Werner, about how he acts around the team. The feedback from Ole was nothing but positive: Niclas is a man who constantly looks to improve himself and will give the team trust and the confidence to believe in themselves. He can fulfil whatever role he needs to. Youssoufa is just on a fantastic path of development. He’s quick, lively and has a great shot. We’re looking forward to seeing him.
… Lukas Klostermann and Armel Bella Kotchap’s nominations: It might be a bit surprising for some people that we’ve nominated Lukas Klostermann. We’ve been in close discussions with Lukas, though, who we see as a right-back. He played fantastically in the Nations League games over the summer. We’ve watched him closely, and we’ve spoken a lot with Marco Rose, who has told me that Lukas is 100% fit. We believe that he can help us a lot as the tournament goes on. Armel Bella Kotchap is fit, and he will be playing for his club this weekend.
... Karim Adeyemi’s inclusion in the squad: We think he’s a real weapon in our arsenal. He’s a player who can give us an impact in certain moments, with his speed, shooting and the final pass.
… Mats Hummels’ absence from the team: We looked at a lot of his games: Mats is in great form, fully fit and helping Dortmund a lot. We had to make our decisions with one eye on the future, though, and decided to plan for the future here – it’s nothing against Mats himself. We have four central defenders who have a huge amount of quality in Niklas Süle, Matthias Ginter, Antonio Rüdiger and Nico Schlotterbeck, so you can understand why we also picked a younger player in Armel Bella Kotchap. Turning someone down is not an easy thing – it shatters the dreams of going to the World Cup. Mats is disappointed, but he’s picked his head up, and I think that’s a great thing.
… not calling up Robin Gosens: Robin has not had many appearances over the last year. I think he can understand our decision – it has nothing at all to do with his quality, just that he’s been out of practice. We need players who have been playing, so that they are always aware and anticipating the game, especially on the wings. Christian Günter is one of those players who offers the team a lot with his style of play, and he’s played almost every game in the last two years.
… Marco Reus’ absence: I like him a lot as a player; he has strengths that would help any team. He’ll be a big miss for us. He tried everything to recover, but an injury like he has needs time to heal properly. We had to decide if we could risk including him in the squad, because it wasn’t clear when he would be able to play. It hurts a lot, because his quality is something that we could have done with.
… Florian Wirtz: We could have done with his quality too, but he has had a very serious injury and has only just returned to training with his club. The most important thing for him is that he is back to full health in January, so he can then give his all for the tasks at hand with both us and Bayer Leverkusen. It’s the right thing to do, for him to work on his match readiness at the moment.
… the situation with Antonio Rüdiger: Toni is the boss of our defence. We’re happy that he’s here with us. We had no doubts about him and were in close discussions with the medical department of Real Madrid. There are no doubts or question marks over any of the players in our squad.
… the latest on Thomas Müller: We’re communicating with Thomas a lot. He’s recovered well and I’m sure that he hasn’t been as well-prepared for a World Cup as he is for this one. He’s coming to us in good fitness, and we’re hoping that he can make an appearance for us against Oman.
… the pre-tournament friendly in Oman: The trip to Oman is important, because the German weather in November doesn’t always play ball. It will help us get used to the temperature and lose a bit of the jet lag. We’ll fly to Qatar quickly after the friendly in Oman, so that we can spend the first days looking at who needs what in terms of recovery and regeneration. We’ll acclimatise first, and then get started on training four days before our first game. That’s when focus will switch to Japan.
… the strong form of the FC Bayern players: I’m happy to see the Bayern players performing so well. It’s great for us and gives us some confidence. The block of Bayern players is only a small part of the squad, though – we need every player to take on the challenge and show us why they are in the squad, in training. They need to have absolute focus in training; only then can we have a good tournament.
… the tactical effects of the absences in attack: We have a lot of attackers who can play in several positions. To put our opponents under pressure, we need players who can run hard and work well off the ball. We have a lot of options in terms of playing with the ball; several players can fill those roles. Lots of things that we can’t prepare for can happen, though, so we’re very happy that our squad still has a lot of options within it.
… assistant coach Hermann Gerland: I’m happy that he’s here. I like him a lot – he has a lot of experience which he can pass on to us. He can improve players that little bit. It’s important to have a good coaching staff, so that even those players who aren’t playing each and every game are properly prepared.
… opening opponents, Japan: I like Japanese football a lot – there are several Japanese players playing in Germany. Japan are a team who can play football very well, so they will be a very good challenge for us in our first game.
###more###
