After Germany’s group stage exit from the World Cup in Qatar, coach Hansi Flick said, “We have an obligation to deliver” in an effort to bring the team back on track for the Euro 2024 tournament they are hosting, thesportsbay.com reports.
A second consecutive World Cup group stage exit, Flick wants his players to offer everything they have got with a better defensive effort and more effectiveness up forward to win the supporters back with successful outcomes.
“We have an obligation to deliver,” Flick told dpa in an interview at the German Football Federation (DFB) headquarters in Frankfurt ahead of Sunday’s final in Qatar between France and Argentina.
“We have to generate enthusiasm again,” he said. “We want to show attractive football. As a team, we want to show the fans: We get it, we want to give everything, we want to play for Germany, we are proud of it and we are looking forward to this home European Championship” in 2024.
“You have to give everything so that you put in a top performance in every game. That is our task and then we hope that the fans will support us. We are also convinced of that.”
Germany lost 2-1 against Japan and drew 1-1 with Spain before a 4-2 win from 2-1 down against Costa Rica was not good enough for the four-time champions to survive the group stage.
“If you look at the data we are among the teams that created the most scoring opportunities. We lacked efficiency. And defensively it was simply average because we were not compact enough,” Flick said.
“The opponents ruthlessly exploited that. Japan and Costa Rica scored twice each from three chances. They had the efficiency we lacked.
“We also didn’t manage to follow through with the match plan over 90 minutes. Performing at 100% for a change – that’s one thing we need. That is very important for the future.”
Flick said the tournament in Qatar showed that defensive-minded teams had the biggest success, saying that in the semi-final between France and Morocco there were stages “in which they played some great football and defended with great passion at the same time.
“You could feel this energy and passion with us in the Spain game. In the end it is the basis, the basic prerequisite for playing a successful tournament,” he said.
Looking ahead, he said: “It is important that we have consistency in every game, against every opponent, and that we have the discipline to deliver 100% over the entire match.”
Full dedication would also reconcile the fans of which many were also indifferent around the World Cup because of Qatar’s human rights record. And Flick also suggested that the debate around the One Love armband could have been handled in a better way.
“Have we done everything in Germany that the people are looking forward to the World Cup?” Flick asked.
