National soccer team
Alarm announcement from the captain: So it won’t work with the World Cup
Joshua Kimmich has had two very bitter World Cup tournaments. This time the qualification starts wrong. The captain speaks plain text after the 0: 2 in Bratislava and expects an immediate reaction.
After the false start in the World Cup qualification, captain Joshua Kimmich already sees the German national football team in an alarming situation. “If we go on like this, it will be very difficult to qualify for the World Cup,” said the 30-year-old Bayern professional after the 0-2 in Bratislava against Slovakia.
Before the second of only six games in group A this Sunday (8:45 p.m./RTL) in Cologne against Northern Ireland, the captain confirmed: “Absolutely. Of course, this is a printing situation. And we all know what is at stake. And I expect that you notice this against Northern Ireland and that we show a reaction.”
Not handy, not toxic, not greedy
Kimmich spoke of an attitude problem that had already occurred in the last place at the final round of the Nations League. “It was not due to any system, any tactic, chain of four. We missed the greed. We weren’t handy. We weren’t poisonous in the duels. We did not support ourselves. We did not get the attitude over 90 minutes. That must not happen to us,” criticized the leading player who has returned to the central midfield.
Kimmich is concerned. So far, he has attended two world championships as a player. Both times were over after the group phase. In 2026 he wants to improve his World Cup record in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
After the low point at the qualifying start, he absolutely warned unity. “It is not at all about the fact that one looks at the other, that we accuse each other. We all sit in a boat. What should not happen to us is that we are now disassembling ourselves and lose it ourselves and this conviction in our quality and this group.”
Baumann speaks of “warning shot”
Goalkeeper Oliver Baumann also clearly addressed the defects. The 35-year-old complained about “emotionality” and missed “the greed” against the maximum motivated Slovaks. “It has to be a warning shot for us.” But now internally you should “not tuse and talk down”, but have to hold together: “The game against Northern Ireland will be extremely important.”
dpa
Source: Stern
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