“Football is a simple game: 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes, and in the end the Germans win.” At the Invictus Games, an international competition for wounded soldiers held in Düsseldorf, it’s hard to fault Gary Lineker. Prince Harry lost a penalty shootout to German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius at the inauguration of the competition.
The Duke of Sussex faced Boris Pistorius and two athletes during a segment broadcast live on German public television ZDF’s Die Aktuelle Sportstudio program late Saturday evening. Harry failed to score, despite six attempts, while Boris Pistorius, former sports minister of the German state of Lower Saxony, correctly aimed twice.
A broadcast held after the German defeat against Japan
The session took place on the set of the show, a grid screen with two black circles, on which the players had to aim to win a point, acting as cages. Although he had promised to wear a Germany jersey if he lost the penalty shootout, Harry ultimately opted for a Mainz club scarf, as no Mannschaft jersey was found on site .
The broadcast took place after Germany’s resounding 4-1 defeat against Japan, which led to the dismissal of the German coach. Prince Harry also joked assuring the Minister of Defense that he could “manage the national team”. The Minister of Defense replied that he had “already enough problems”.