The Nationalmannschaft are in a hole right now and twelve months before the European Championships on home soil, they just cannot find a decent performance and following a draw with Ukraine and a defeat to Poland, they lost 2-0 against Colombia in Gelsenkirchen.
Trainer Hansi Flick was already coming in for a lot of criticism after the first two results, and the frustration levels will only rise with a third below par result and performance.
“I’m very disappointed that we couldn’t implement our ideas. I’m sorry for the fans too, as they showed incredible support” the Bundestrainer said after the match at the Veltins Arena. “We wanted to try some things out, but it went belly-up. It’s hard to argue against the criticism.
“We need to analyse things thoroughly. We need to be prepared to show something different in September and produce better performances. I can’t take anything away from the players; they showed desire, but they’re lacking confidence. Things just aren’t going our way at the moment.”
Captain Ilkay Gündogan, frsh from winning the treble with Manchester City was also recognised that there is a problem at the moment with the national team, “We failed to build any rhythm. We kept things simple, but we weren’t courageous enough. We created one or two chances, but we gave too many away at the back.
“Dealing with criticism and getting past the boos is part of the job. The way we played certainly isn’t our standard. I know what wasn’t good and what needs to be better. We also have to start questioning our quality though. We have to make sure we’re much better next time.”
These were sentiments echoed by DFB Director Rudi Völler. “Colombia were the strongest of our three opponents, but when you look at all three games as a whole, it just wasn’t enough from us. We had some decent moments, but you need more.
“You feel for Hansi Flick, the poor sod, because he’s trying absolutely everything to bring us success. Ultimately though, it’s a question of quality in the team. We need to keep our belief and bounce back. If we want to have a good tournament at the Euros, we need to show more fire.”
1 Trackback / Pingback
Comments are closed.