Press reviews
International match Germany – Japan
“Disaster for Germany”, “Beaten by Japan” – international press gives DFB-Elf devastating testimony
No fire, no passion, no structure: The German national soccer team around Joshua Kimmich was presented in the test match against Japan
© Alex Grimm/Getty Images
The test match against Japan was supposed to be a restart for the DFB team. But the 4-1 defeat in Wolfsburg turned into an embarrassment. The humiliation of the Germans finds an echo in the international press, which oscillates between pity and glee.
The 1:4 defeat of the DFB selection against Japan is also being noted with astonishment internationally. The fate of national coach Hansi Flick in particular invites the foreign media to speculate. The press reviews:
England
“Daily Mail”: “Disaster for Germany. They are thrashed 4-1 by Japan in a friendly. But the counted Hansi Flick insists he is the right man to lead the hosts to Euro 2024 (despite having only won four of 17 games ).”
“Mirror”: “Germany coach Hansi Flick is under enormous pressure after his team was beaten 4-1 by Japan – and his bizarre management style was exposed by a new documentary.”
Switzerland
“View”: “Japanese slap in the face for Flick and his DFB men”
Austria
“Kronen-Zeitung”: “DFB-Elf slides into the next debacle against Japan. The mega-crisis in Germany’s national soccer team also continues against Japan.”
“Courier”: “Whether Hansi Flick will still experience the home European Championship as team boss? After the 1:4 against Japan, the coach, who once had such a successful start, has to answer many critical questions again. Ten months before the tournament in Germany, the DFB team presents itself Defensively, not like a title candidate, but more like an outsider who has nothing to lose in a finals.”
France
“L’Equipe”: “Germany slipped a little further into the crisis before the game against the Blues. Japan really enjoys hurting Germany. After shocking the Germans in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup, the Japanese swept them on Saturday evening at the friendly match in Wolfsburg. That doesn’t make coach Hansi Flick’s situation any more pleasant.”
“RMC Sport”: “Nothing works anymore in the German team. Nine months before ‘its’ Euro 2024, Germany was humiliated at home by Japan on Saturday. It remains a series of extremely worrying results.”
Spain
“Marca”: “Germany remains in crisis: 1:4 against Japan, fifth game without a win in a row and Flick is in danger. Flick’s record is ultimately terrible. The game against Japan was a disaster. Overall, Japan was clearly superior, and not just in terms of the result .”
“Ace”: “Japan is humiliating an aimless Germany. The future of its coach Hansi Flick is beginning to be in serious jeopardy. The team remains in a real crisis of results.”
Italy
“Gazzetta dello Sport”: “Germany, what a violent slap: Four goals conceded by Japan! Something incredible happened in Wolfsburg, the fourth knockout in five German games under Flick, which is now shaking violently. The phantom Nagelsmann hovers over Flick.”
“Tuttosport”: “The German national team is deep in crisis and has been for months. Flick, who was on the verge of being kicked out in June, is now wobbling enormously.”