Many questions still unanswered, but…
The draw makes Flick’s goal for the World Cup clear
April 2, 2022, 1:40 p.m
The accommodation has not yet been determined, and the third preliminary round opponent is still open. Nevertheless, national coach Hansi Flick is already sure what is in store for the German footballers at the World Cup in November. It’s about more than just redemption.
With Kracherlos Spain in his luggage, Hansi Flick climbed onto the plane in a good mood. On the evening of the draw, the national coach took off from the sweltering heat of Doha in the direction of his cold, partly snow-covered homeland – and yet he started the hot phase high above the clouds in the hunt for the fifth star. It is possible that he continued to forge his master plan for the desert World Cup there.
“It’s up to us to prepare well for this super tournament,” emphasized Flick. DFB director Oliver Bierhoff announced with a view to the plans: “From Monday we will increase the pace.” After all, from now on there will be pondering, analysis and discussion – about the opponents in Group E, the choice of quarters in Qatar and how to deal with the ongoing issue of human rights.
“We are happy to know how it starts and how it can continue,” said Flick – because at least the rough timetable is in place. However, it remains open until mid-June whether Costa Rica or New Zealand will be the third group opponents alongside Spain and Japan. But regardless of that, the national coach expects “a group in which you have to be there from the start”. The goal is the title, even if Flick puts it in his own public modesty: “We want to get as far as possible.”
In the tightly timed preparation, Flick and Co. will at least get a little more adjustment time before the start against Japan on November 23rd. Nine days together are available to get in the mood – for the World Cup mission and especially for the cracker duel on the 1st Advent with the Spaniards, who recently missed the DFB selection a violent 0: 6 smack.
Alone in the hotel “would be a good thing”
Only one test match is possible in advance in Qatar, so the endurance tests in the Nations League against Italy and England should become all the more important. Only wins in this World Cup group counted, emphasized captain Manuel Neuer: “That’s why the summer is important for us to play against big teams in Europe.”
Where the team will swear in Qatar is not yet certain. But the decision is imminent, and there is much to suggest that the luxurious Zulal Wellness Resort in northern Qatar will prevail over a city hotel in the middle of Doha. “It’s quiet, you can open the window, you’re alone in this hotel. That would be a good thing,” said Flick.
And Bierhoff has long dreamed that the spirit of Campo Bahia, which carried the national team to the title in Brazil in 2014, could be conjured up again there. Each tournament has its own story, said the 53-year-old, but “the criteria are also met out there”.
DFB is looking to deal with the human rights situation
The only drawback: the travel distances are comparatively long, the remote region is about 100 kilometers north of the Qatari capital. But that shouldn’t bother the German team on the way to making amends for the shame four years ago when they lost the preliminary round in Russia.
Of course, the difficult human rights situation in Qatar is and will remain so. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch recently gave presentations for the national team. A “first step”, as Bierhoff emphasized. In June they wanted “to have a bit more communication, to talk to people from different areas to get a picture of how this country works”.
The new DFB President Bernd Neuendorf, who was in Doha with Bierhoff on Saturday, will also be in the spotlight. After all, the German Football Association (DFB) must also live up to its social responsibility. In any case, Norway’s association president Lise Klaveness had already shown him exactly what that can look like at the FIFA Congress with her remarkable speech and clear criticism of Qatar.