Reactions after 1-2 against Japan
The players of the German national team reacted frustrated to the opening defeat at the World Cup in Qatar. “I’m frustrated and upset that we gave up the game. Now we have the trouble. We have to do better against Spain and show what potential we have,” said captain Manuel Neuer on MagentaTV after the 2-1 draw against Japan on Wednesday.
Germany’s goalscorer Ilkay Gündogan also expressed disappointment. “We made it too easy for Japan. Especially the second goal, I don’t know if an easier goal has ever been scored at a World Cup. That shouldn’t happen,” he told ARD. “There was a bit of a lack of conviction with the ball – out from behind. Holding the ball, moving, offering. And we relied too much on long balls in the second half. And the short ones we played we lost too easily. You got the feeling that not everyone really wanted the ball. We lost the ball way too often and way too easily.”
Thomas Müller saw it in a similar way: “In terms of feeling, we played a good game for a long time. But the effectiveness didn’t match at both ends. It’s ludicrous that we’re left with a defeat here. In the end, we clearly have to blame ourselves for the lack of efficiency. We have to work through that and remain objective.” In the duel between Germany and Japan, the eleventh in the FIFA world rankings met the 24th, the DFB squad (885.5 million euros) is more than five times as valuable as that of the Japanese (154 million euros).
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Kai Havertz said: “All 15 players didn’t perform well today. I think we had a lot of good chances to score. I can definitely understand the frustration after the game. Now it’s about staying positive and looking ahead. We must try to turn the tide. We now have pressure on the boiler. But we have enough experienced players to be able to withstand the pressure.” Leon Goretzka said: “Now the route is clear, we have to win. We are extremely frustrated.”
Flick after defeat by Japan: “It’s brutally disappointing”
National coach Hansi Flick complained about his team’s lack of exploitation of chances. “This is brutally disappointing. We rightly took a 1-0 lead, that was more than deserved,” Flick told ARD. “We missed a lot of chances to score. You just have to say: Japan clearly beat us in terms of efficiency.”
The 57-year-old also criticized his team’s defensive behavior in crucial situations. “The individual mistakes that we made just can’t be allowed to happen,” he said. “We have to build up the players now. We won’t have a nice trip home because everyone has that in their heads now and everyone is angry that we didn’t win the game today.”
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Meanwhile, Japan’s national coach Hajime Moriyasu sees the coup as a tactical trick. Despite being behind at half-time, the 54-year-old substituted a central defender for a winger. “We knew we had to focus more on defence. That’s why I changed the system. The players knew straight away what I meant by that and how they should behave,” said Moriyasu after the 2-1 thanks to goals from the two jokers Ritsu Doan (75th minute) and Takuma Asano (83rd). Moriyasu said enthusiastically about the success: “I think it was a historic moment, a historic victory.”
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