![]() ![]() After that, they struggled a bit and we did much better.”Įven so, Germany had not lost a World Cup match when ahead at half-time since losing to Austria in 1978 – a run of 21 games. Jamal Musiala and Müller were in pockets all the time and we struggled to catch them. As the centre-back Maya Yoshida said: “We changed the shape. And although Japan completed only 62 passes in the first half, a switch to three at the back allowed them to get back into the game. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. ![]() For more information see our Privacy Policy. Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. And such was their early dominance, the only surprise was that it took 33 minutes for them to go ahead through a Gündogan penalty. Under Flick, Germany have quickly earned a reputation for attacking play, having scored four or more goals six times in his 15 matches before coming to Qatar. We didn’t know what sanctions there might be.” “The timing was actually horrible for me. Neuer, who was part of the Germany players’ council that came up with the idea on Tuesday, also expressed anger with Fifa’s threat to issue sporting sanctions after the tournament started. ![]() “We stand for our values and for human rights. “We said they can take our armband, but as much as Fifa might want to, they will never silence us,” he told reporters. Photograph: Alex Livesey/Danehouse/Getty ImagesĪs Germany’s captain, Manuel Neuer, explained after the game, they wanted to make a stand after Fifa stopped them and six other nations from wearing a OneLove armband. Jamal Musiala looks dejected after Germany’s defeat by Japan. Even if they go out of this World Cup in the first round. That photograph of the German players with their hands over their mouths will, like the one of the Iran team who bowed their heads when their anthem played against England, reverberate down the years and the generations. It is a damning failure on Fifa’s part that it fails to recognise this. Standing up for universal rights, for tolerance and freedom, matters far more than 22 people kicking a ball around. Even if Germany’s protest had directly contributed to their defeat, it would have still been the right thing to do. ![]() There’s another, even more important, point to make here. Instead a match that had appeared so controlled suddenly turned to chaos in the final 20 minutes. If there was a lack of focus, how come Hansi Flick’s side enjoyed 74% possession, had 25 shots compared with 11 for Japan, and largely dominated until removing Ilkay Gündogan and Thomas Müller on 67 minutes? More often than not in such games, a 1-0 lead becomes two or three. Or because their interior minister wore a OneLove armband while sitting next to the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino. Or because they wore rainbow-coloured boots. Germany play on Thursday evening, kicking off against Costa Rica at 19.00 GMT/14.00 ET at the Al Bayt Stadium.Germany did not lose because their players put their hands over their mouths to signify that they had been gagged by Fifa. We want to play attractive modern football, this is important for us.” “Beyond that, we want possession of the ball and to create opportunities with the ball. We play with a high intensity, we want to be active, we want to force erros on the opponent and we want to have high pressing. “Maybe nuances have changed compared to previous years. He was also asked if his side still played with a defined identity. “We know it’s going to be very difficult against a team who defend quite strongly, we need to adopt the same attitude that we had against Spain.” “We’re going to go into the match and try to make matters clear from the start, exert some pressure, these are our intentions. My contract runs until 2024 and I’m looking forward to the home Euros. Asked about his future if Germany do not go through, Flick replied: “I can confirm it from my side, I don’t know what else will happen. ![]()
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