Debutants and returnees
Unique DFB team successfully starts World Cup mission
03/26/2022, 10:41 p.m
The German national soccer team started the World Cup year with an easy win against Israel, which should end with the world championship title. National coach Flick enables two new national players to make their debut, and two experienced players score the goals. Both teams missed a penalty in the final minutes.
Clapping and smiling, the national players set off for the lap of honor in front of the celebrating fans. That was a successful start to the World Cup year. Hansi Flick’s winning streak continued in Sinsheim on Saturday evening thanks to goalkeepers Kai Havertz and Timo Werner. A touchstone for the title ambitions in the finals in Qatar was Israel as a harmless sparring partner for the German national soccer team at 2-0 (2-0). He’s already waiting for the classic in Amsterdam against the Netherlands on Tuesday.
“We created a few scoring chances that we didn’t take. But overall, after four months and in the first game of the new year, it was a good performance from us,” said Werner on ZDF.
The national coach used the first of nine international matches before the tournament emergency for many experiments with the debutants Nico Schlotterbeck and Anton Stach as well as the returnees Julian Weigl and Julian Draxler. The Chelsea pros Havertz (36th minute) and Werner (45th + 1) laid the foundation for the eighth win in eight games under Flick with their goals before the break.
In the second half, the DFB selection missed further goals in front of 25,600 spectators, but remained enthusiastic and dominant. In the end, the precision was still missing. Thomas Müller hit the post with a penalty just before the end (89th). Israel’s Yonatan Cohen failed in a penalty caused by Schlotterbeck to Kevin Trapp (90 + 3). “I think it was just bad in the situation,” said Schlotterbeck about his foul and thanked Trapp. The fans nevertheless celebrated the team with the long-unseen Laola.
Mourning for DFB legends
For the first time since 2019, the national players were able to enjoy the atmosphere of a sold-out stadium again. Shortly before kick-off, the thousands of fans fell silent in memory of the deceased Horst Eckel, Jürgen Grabowski, Hans-Jürgen Dörner and Egidius Braun. Signs against the war in Ukraine were also omnipresent, including large “Peace” posters.
Flick used the game to audition. The 2014 world champion Draxler was one of the more conspicuous DFB players on the right side. Jonathan Tah and Schlotterbeck had little to do in central defense from the start, while Weigl tried to replace midfield leader Joshua Kimmich. With 19-year-old Jamal Musiala as the only Bayern professional in the starting eleven, Germany dominated the game against harmless guests.
In the 18th minute, Werner had his first small chance, but the Chelsea pro narrowly missed the sharp cross from Hoffenheim’s David Raum at his home game. Havertz was initially denied by Israeli goalkeeper Ofir Marciano (29′) from close range. In the first half hour it was a rather leisurely start to the World Cup year for the Flick-Elf.
Return of the regulars
After the test against the Netherlands, the national coach still has six games in the Nations League to prepare for the finals. A tournament is always fortunate that no key player is injured shortly beforehand, Flick emphasized shortly before kick-off on ZDF. Leon Goretzka, Robin Gosens, Niklas Süle and top talent Florian Wirtz were missing in Sinsheim.
Flick followed the game for long stretches while standing on the sidelines – and his players approached. After a well-considered pass from Schlotterbeck, Werner had his next chance (35′), as did Havertz a few moments later. The third attempt within a minute worked: Havertz headed his eighth international goal after a corner from space. Werner then scored his sixth goal under Flick after a free kick from captain Ilkay Gündogan – so far nobody has.
Substitute Thomas Müller took over the captaincy after the break, and Marc-André ter Stegen was replaced by Trapp in goal. The rhythm of the game changed little. The guests hardly challenged the DFB selection defensively, the national players were given a lot of freedom offensively. The strong Marciano fended off shots from Thilo Kehrer (60th) and Draxler (68th). Stach made his debut in the national jersey in the 63rd minute. The DFB selection pushed for the third goal – but it didn’t fall.