Status: 02.12.2022 08:18 a.m
Germany was the celebrated world champion in 2014, and now the DFB team has been eliminated from a World Cup for the second time in a row after the preliminary round. From world champion to problem child in eight years – reasons and numbers of the decline.
It is the weakest phase in the history of the German national team. After the early World Cup in 2018, Germany did not survive the preliminary round in Qatar four years later. After the World Cup title in 2014, quite a few experts assumed that Germany, like Spain (2008 to 2012), could shape an era.
Germany is no longer a tournament team
Instead, the realization after the renewed disgrace is: Germany is no longer a tournament team. This is proven by the record at world and European championships since the EM 2016. In ten games, the German team has won only three times, drawn twice and lost five times.
Up to the 2018 World Cup, Germany had only failed three times in the preliminary round of major tournaments (at the European Championships in 1984, 2000 and 2004) – since then in two out of three major events. And at the last European Championship, the team was eliminated by England in the round of 16.
| Until 2014 | Since 2016 | |
|---|---|---|
30 | tournaments | 3 |
7 | title | 0 |
18 | Quarterfinals | 0 |
3 | Preliminary Round Out | 2 |
155 | games | 10 |
92 | victories | 3 |
59% | Percent wins | 33% |
31 | defeats | 5 |
20% | Percentage of defeats | 50% |
The gradual decline of the national team
The decline did not come suddenly, nor did it come as a complete surprise. After the 2014 World Cup, Joachim Löw failed to decisively rebuild the team. At Euro 2016, the team made a lackluster progress to the semi-finals, where they lost 2-0 to France quite easily.
When Löw was said goodbye after the EM 2021, hope rested on Hansi Flick. Löw’s former assistant coach started with eight wins in a row, in which Germany kept six clean sheets – albeit against weak opponents such as Liechtenstein, Armenia, Iceland, Romania, North Macedonia and Israel. Germany has only won three of their last eleven games (Italy, Oman, Costa Rica). Flick also showed old difficulties against stronger teams.
Germany hasn’t had a top scorer since Klose
A big problem area of the German game is the storm center. Whether Max Morlock, Helmut Rahn, Gerd Müller, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Klaus Fischer, Horst Hrubesch, Klaus Allofs, Rudi Völler, Jürgen Klinsmann or, last but not least, Miroslav Klose: the DFB team has always had top international strikers. Since Klose ended his career as a World Cup record scorer in 2014, this is no longer the case. Neither Mario Gomez nor Timo Werner made a lasting impression.
Miroslav Klose was the last top striker in the DFB team.
Image: WDR / imago/Gribaudi/ImagePhoto
Since the 2011/12 Bundesliga season, German players have only been top scorer twice (Stefan Kießling and Alex Meier). And there are also few real goal scorers among the youngsters. Youssoufa Moukoko still needs time to be able to take on such a role. Niclas Füllkrug proved against Spain that he can score in important games, but Hansi Flick only got him off the bench against Costa Rica. He has no experience at the highest level.
Germany’s defense wobbles in major tournaments
Germany not only lacks quality in attack, the defensive has also been a concern for years. In Qatar, the DFB team conceded five goals in three games, four of them against Japan and Costa Rica.
For the last time, Germany did not concede a goal in a tournament game in the round of 16 of Euro 2016 against Slovakia (3-0 win). For comparison: On the way to the 2014 World Cup title, the German team played four times to zero – against Portugal, the USA, France and Argentina. Germany only conceded four goals in the entire tournament. The strong defense was the basis of the triumph. Germany no longer has players like Mats Hummels and Jérôme Boateng in top form, apart perhaps from Antonio Rüdiger. And there has been a lack of top quality in the full-back positions for years.
Flick wants to remain a coach – Musiala gives hope
Big tasks await the German national team. Hansi Flick has already ruled out resignation, as have DFB managing director Oliver Bierhoff and captain Manuel Neuer. Thomas Müller, on the other hand, indicated his departure. Flick announced that he wanted to go into the analysis critically. Above all, the refreshing performance of Jamal Musiala, who was one of the few players in Qatar to convince and who owns the present and the future at the DFB, gives hope.
Source: sportschau.de