Only a few minutes separated the German national soccer team from a victory over runner-up England in the Nations League. In the end, it was “only” 1-1 against Italy in Munich, as it was on Saturday in Bologna, because Harry Kane converted a penalty in the 88th minute.
DFB national coach Hansi Flick nevertheless saw a positive development with a view to the World Cup in Qatar (November 21 to December 18). “The game was as we had planned. The way it was played was just great for the fans. It’s a shame we didn’t reward ourselves,” emphasized the 57-year-old, who has been unbeaten since taking office in the summer of 2021 . In eleven country matches there were eight wins and three draws.
“If we disregard the result, we can definitely be satisfied with the step we’ve taken,” said FC Bayern star Thomas Müller, who is happy to take credit for the 2-0 defeat in the 2021 EURO round of 16 in Munich Wembley Stadium would have returned the favor. At that time, the era of DFB team boss Joachim Löw came to an end, the way for Flick was clear.
Goalscorer Jonas Hofmann, Ilkay Gündogan as midfielder, Jamal Musiala and David Raum on the left wing – all showed strong performances. “We have huge potential,” emphasized Gündogan. “Unfortunately it wasn’t to be. Maybe what’s missing is that we bring games like this home.” The next opportunity opens up on Saturday (8:45 p.m.) in Budapest. There, Hungary is the team that surprisingly defeated England 1-0 and recently lost 2-1 to European champions Italy.
The day after tomorrow the English will face the Squadra Azzurra in the new edition of the 2021 European Championship final. “It’s important to show mentality. We showed character after going behind and showed our best football in the last 30 minutes,” said captain Kane. The British media held back with hymns of praise. “It was far from England’s most impressive performance in recent memory,” wrote the Daily Mail.
Source: Nachrichten
