National team: Decision only at noon: DFB leaves Pk occupation open

National team
Decision only at noon: DFB leaves Pk occupation open

Preparing the DFB team for the important game against Spain: national coach Hansi Flick. photo

© Federico Gambarini/dpa

Is there a new conflict between DFB and FIFA? No player has been named for the press conference ahead of the Spain game. An absence would not be a novelty. In 2010, even national coach Löw skipped.

The German Football Association will only decide after the national team’s lunch at the team headquarters in Al-Ruwais whether a player will attend the press conference for the important World Cup group match against Spain as specified by FIFA.

The media event with national coach Hansi Flick will take place at 4:15 p.m. local time (2:15 p.m. CET) in the Main Media Center in Doha.

As the reason for the late decision, the association named the processes on the day before the second World Cup game on Saturday. The final training session for the Spain duel was scheduled by Flick for 7:30 p.m. Qatar time (5:30 p.m./CET) in Al-Shamal, not far from the team hotel and thus a good hour’s drive from the Pk location.

According to FIFA regulations, teams are required to hold a press conference the day before with the head coach and one player. This rule is set out in Article 44 of the Tournament Rules. It was sent to the teams again in a circular, as confirmed by FIFA on Saturday. In the event of violations, the world association could impose a fine on the DFB.

Leo is absent in 2010

A press conference without a full DFB cast would not be a novelty. In 2010, the then national coach Joachim Löw was absent from the tournament in South Africa in the media round before the World Cup round of 16 against England (4:1). He sent goalkeeping coach Andreas Koepke. At that time, the DFB justified this approach by moving the final training session to another stadium at short notice. Löw could not have followed the unit to the end to be at the Pk in time. There was no FIFA penalty back then.

In Qatar, the DFB had hoped to hold the final press conference at its media center in Al-Shamal, not far from the team hotel. However, FIFA hosts all final media rounds in Doha. The media center there is more than 100 kilometers away from the German team headquarters and training ground in the very north of Qatar. In the event of a defeat against Spain on Sunday (8:00 p.m. CET/ZDF and MagentaTV), Germany is at risk of being eliminated after the preliminary round.

At the press conference before the start of the World Cup against Japan (1: 2) on Tuesday, Joshua Kimmich took part as a player alongside Flick. However, since the game took place in Doha, the entire DFB entourage had already traveled to the capital the day before. This time, the national team will travel to the Al-Bait Stadium in Al-Khour, about 70 kilometers from the World Cup base, on the day of the match. At the beginning of the week, the FIFA ban on the One Love captain’s armband, which captain Manuel Neuer is not allowed to wear at the World Cup, caused a major conflict between the DFB and the world association.

dpa

source site-2