On Saturday, Japan embarrassed Germany by defeating them 4-1 in a friendly international match. This put additional pressure on Germany’s struggling coach Hansi Flick, who firmly asserted that he is still the appropriate man for the job despite the humiliating loss.
Japan won both halves 2-0, contributing to Germany’s elimination from the World Cup group stage last year with their victory in Qatar (2-1). Japan scored twice in each half.
After this loss, there are even more doubts over Flick’s future, and this comes nine months before Germany will host the European Championships.
After the game, Flick, who described himself as “brutally disappointed,” refused to back down.
“I believe that we are making progress, and I believe that I am the appropriate manager. But I’m aware that anything can happen in the professional football league, and I have no idea what the future holds,” he remarked.
Ilkay Gundogan, the captain of Germany, stated categorically that “we are not good enough right now, it’s a completely bitter day — we all need to ask questions of ourselves.”
Both Junya Ito and Ayase Ueda scored for Japan in the first half, sandwiching a goal for Leroy Sane, and Japan took a 2-1 lead into halftime despite the booing and jeering from the home crowd.
Japan secured a dominant performance by scoring twice in the closing five minutes with the efforts of Takuma Asano and Ao Tanaka, while Germany’s lackluster play carried over into the second half.
The manager of the Japan national team, Hajime Moriyasu, stated that his team “actually had many more opportunities to score,” but that “the main thing is that we won.”
“To win a game here in Germany, in this difficult situation, we have done very well.”
Flick promised before the game that Germany would “play our core team,” claiming to abandon an experimental strategy that saw his side win just one of five games since their dismal withdrawal from the World Cup. This statement was met with both boos and whistles from the crowd.
However, Flick decided to start Nico Schlotterbeck at left back, which is a position the Borussia Dortmund center-back has only played two other times in his professional career, and both of those instances were as a substitute.
Because of Schlotterbeck’s lack of expertise in the position, Japan’s Yukinari Sugawara was able to score the game’s first goal after just 11 minutes because the defense lost track of him and allowed him to cross the ball for Ito.
Ilkay Gundogan, who had just been appointed captain of Germany, found Florian Wirtz on the outskirts of the penalty area to score the equalizer for Germany shortly after that.
The playmaker, who has excelled in Xabi Alonso’s table-topping Bayer Leverkusen midfield this season, made a move to shoot but instead laid off a pass for Sane, who calmly tapped the goal home. Bayer Leverkusen are currently in first place in the Bundesliga table.
Japan would strike next, with Sugawara again finding space down Schlotterbeck’s right wing to score the game-winning goal. The goal, which was well worked out, gave the impression that Germany would stage a comeback.
Ueda was able to score thanks to a feed from Ito, which was threaded through the gap in the Germany defense created by the AZ Alkmaar winger’s delivery.
At halftime, the home crowd broke their quiet with boos and whistles, which they carried over into the second half as Germany dominated possession but was unable to break down Japan’s stubborn defense.
While Germany was trying to find a way to tie the score, Japan scored twice in the final minutes to complete a stunning and dominant performance. The first goal was scored by Asano, who also scored the game-winning goal in Qatar, and the second was scored by Tanaka in injury time.
In spite of a historical unwillingness to fire managers, particularly when doing so so close to a big tournament, Germany may be compelled to break with history. This is especially true considering that former Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann appears to be waiting in the wings.
The next game for Germany is scheduled to take place on Tuesday in Dortmund against France. France is an opponent that will be excited to take advantage of the space that is provided by the German defense.
Japan’s successful preparation for the Asia Cup, which will take place in Qatar in January and which they have won a record four times, continued with a third victory in a row for the country.