Euro 2024 hosts On Friday, Germany was defeated by Poland in a friendly match played in Warsaw. Jakub Kiwor scored the game’s only goal in the first half, which put more stress on Germany’s head coach Hansi Flick.
As a result of Poland’s triumph, Germany had only one victory in their last four games after their disappointing performance at the World Cup in Qatar. Poland’s victory over its neighbors was only their second in 22 games dating back to 1933.
In the middle of the first half, Kiwor gave his team the lead by heading in a corner against a disorganized German defense. This added to Flick’s concerns in preparation for the European Championship being held in their own country the following year.
Flick stated that his team still had time to “get things right” despite the “totally disappointing result”
Flick offered an explanation by saying, “We’re in the process, and we’re trying things out.” There is still a significant distance to travel before we get at our destination.
“By June of the following year, we should have a team that can work cohesively.”
Wingback Robin Gosens, who played for Inter Milan just six days ago when they lost the Champions League final to Man City 1-0, stated that his team’s goal was to get Germany “into a spirit of optimism and to get the country behind us.”
“We are well aware that in order to achieve this goal, results and victories are required.”
Robert Lewandowski, the captain of Poland, remarked that “it wasn’t perfect… we tried to make Germany’s day difficult.” Lewandowski won the Champions League with Bayern Munich in 2020 under Flick’s direction.
Flick made nine substitutions to the side that played Ukraine in Bremen on Monday, and the result was a 3-3 draw. Flick is coming under fire for continuing to experiment despite the club’s struggles.
Only center back Antonio Ruediger and team captain Joshua Kimmich remained on the roster, so Flick decided to give central defender Malick Thiaw, who is 21 years old, his first start as part of a back three.
Poland came out strong right on, and after 13 minutes of play, Jakub Blaszczykowski, who was making his 109th and last appearance for Poland, had a shot on the counter that was stopped by Thiaw.
After playing for Borussia Dortmund and Wolfsburg in Germany for more than a decade, Blaszczykowski was taken out of the game shortly thereafter and received a standing ovation from the supporters of both teams. Blaszczykowski is currently 37 years old.
Kiwor outsmarted West Ham defender Thilo Kehrer and was able to head in a Piotr Zielinksi corner to give the home team the lead midway through the first half. This allowed the hosts to maintain their festive attitude.
The second half began with Germany upping their game, and they appeared to have a great opportunity to tie the score 10 minutes in, when it was decided that Jan Bednarek had handled the ball inside the area.
However, Poland were given a second chance when the penalty kick was overruled after being reviewed. Video analysis revealed that the Southampton center-back’s arm did not make sufficient contact with the ball during the review.
Kimmich, who had earlier spared Germany’s blushes from the penalty spot in injury time against Ukraine, made an attempt from a farther distance, but his effort hit the crossbar instead.
In the dying minutes of the match, Flick made five substitutions in the offensive half of the field, but Germany was still unable to score.
Although Germany have secured their spot as hosts of the 2019 European Championship, many uncertainties still surround the nation’s team, which has been unable to translate its quality and resources into on-field success since it won the World Cup in Brazil in 2014.