It’s all gone from bad to worse for the German national team. They slumped to a 2-0 defeat to Colombia in an international friendly in Gelsenkirchen, extending their winless streak to four matches. Prior to the defeat to Colombia, they lost to Poland 1-0, tied Ukraine 3-3, and lost to Belgium 3-2. Their last win was a 2-0 friendly win against Perú back in March and Die Mannschaft has now only won two of their last ten matches. Failing to make it out of the group stages at the World Cup in Qatar was within that set of ten matches and Hansi Flick’s tenure as Germany boss is now in jeopardy, despite Rudi Voller suggesting otherwise.
It was a 54th minute header from Liverpool’s Luis Díaz and a converted penalty from Juventus’ Juan Cuadrado that handed Germany the loss and the hosts were only able to register one shot on target to Colombia’s four. Albeit just another friendly since Germany is hosting next summer’s European Championships, it simply wasn’t good enough and something’s got to give.
Speaking after the loss, Bayern Munich’s Leon Goretzka bluntly described the droll malaise that’s been plaguing the German national team with their recent performances. “(The situation) is dramatic. We have to say that clearly. It’s difficult to explain. Everything is missing, all in all it’s far too little. It feels like the end of the season we had at Bayern – everything is going against us at the moment,” he ranted (via @iMiaSanMia).
Like Goretzka alluded to, Bayern also had their fare share of ruts this season, but did enough to see themselves over the line and clinch their eleventh consecutive Bundesliga title. It could easily be argued that the usually heavy Bayern contingent in Germany’s squad has affected the national team’s performances, but the contingent wasn’t nearly as Bayern-heavy for the trio of recent friendlies – the blame can be evenly dispersed throughout the squad and coaching staff.
It’s all gone downhill for the most part after Flick started his reign as Germany manager with seven straight wins after taking over for Joachim Low. They breezed through the later stages of 2022 World Cup qualifying, but only recorded one win in the UEFA Nations League before falling short in Qatar.
Ready for more fallout from the game? Chuck is here to take us all on a tour of sadness in this International Friendly Rant edition of the BPW Postgame Show. Short, sweet, and bitter all at once: you need to give this a listen. Find it on Spotify or use the player below:
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