Germany followed their disappointing draw with Ukraine with a defeat in Warsaw to Poland on Friday. The Poles took a first half led through Jakub Kiwior’s header and despite a much better showing in the second half, Hansi Flick’s side just couldn’t find the breakthrough to rescue the game as they did against Ukraine.
Debutant Malick Thiaw was the stand-out performer, although Florian Wirtz had yet another below-par performance for the Nationalmannschaft. Following the 1-0 defeat in Warsaw, the Bundestrainer was looking for the positives to take from the game.
“The result is extremely disappointing” he said after the final whistle. “We didn’t have much pace and very few clear-cut chances. We improved in the second half and created chances for ourselves. Wojciech Szczesny made great saves to deny our chances.
“We can take positives from the second half, but we need more urgency. Malick Thiaw had a great game, so we’re pleased to have a young player that can play at a high level. We need results. We’re going through a process and the conviction is just not there yet, we have to get there. We’re in a phase that’s not quite easy. But we’ll get out of it.”
Second half substitute Robin Gosens also saw the second 45 minutes in a positive light although was disappointed to have suffered a loss. “I had hoped that we would be able to celebrate a win today, which would have been crucial for both myself and our country.
“We played well in the second half and create a lot of chances, which we should have managed to reward ourselves for. That’s what we’re lacking in order to finally be able to head home victorious. We need to continue to build on our performance in the second half.”
Germany face Colombia on Tuesday at the Veltins Arena as they look to get themselves back on track after two unsatisfactory results.
