Summary: Germany - Israel 0:2 (Sport1)
There is something strange in the attitude of the German fans and commentators towards the World Cup.
It is completely understandable why the natural excitement for a corrupt and immoral tournament that is stuck like a bone in the throat in the middle of the season is lacking, but there is also a new phenomenon, and it is quite unusual.
The German audience lost confidence in the national team to a considerable extent.
In the previous World Cup, Germany was eliminated for the first time in its history in the group stage.
At Euro 2020 last summer, she was minutes away from flying again in the group stage, until she drew 2:2 against Hungary, then lost anyway in the round of 16.
These two consecutive defeats dictate the expectations now, and it will not be easy to find a German fan who sees his team as a favorite to win the gold medals this time.
This may work to the advantage of the Mannschaft.
Excessive hopes can harm even the Germans, and it is much easier to reach the tournament when it seems that everyone has already accepted the fact that there are better candidates.
The point is that this statement is very controversial, and there are several reasons why Germany should have an advantage over its rivals on the way to the crown.
There are also several reasons to believe in Mannschaft (Photo: Reuters)
First, the coach is a world champion.
For some reason it goes a little under the radar, but Hanzi Flick is the most experienced coach in the tournament when it comes to participating in these classes, with the exception of Didier Deschamps.
He was appointed Joachim Lev's assistant back in 2006 and the two worked in harmony for eight years, until winning the World Cup in Brazil in 2014.
Flick's contribution to this achievement was enormous, and its power became even more apparent when the business began to falter without him.
Lev was the strategist, but both the issues of training and tactics, as well as human relations within the squad, were Flick's responsibility.
He is a kind psychologist who knows how to find the way to the players' hearts and balance their egos.
In his time, there was no camping in Germany, but when Lev was left alone the phenomenon erupted in a destructive way.
Flick knows how to calm systems, and he proved it in his first independent role at Bayern Munich.
It's not easy to be promoted to head coach in November when the team is in crisis, and more so on a temporary appointment basis, but Flick turned the momentum 180 degrees, got the position permanently within a few weeks and the 2019/20 season ended with a treble win.
Even the corona virus did not stop the unrestrained gallop of this group, which presented a very nice offensive and creative game without giving up the discipline in the rear.
Sometimes this team was close to perfection, and it was easy to see the coach's hand in shaping it.
She was so good that Lev had no choice but to return Thomas Muller to the team after two years.
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Flick (Photo: Reuters)
Here we come to the second critical issue - there is no coach in the tournament who knows the players better than Flick.
Müller, together with Manuel Neuer, he nurtured even from the performances in South Africa in 2010, when he was crowned the top scorer in the World Cup at the age of only 20.
He managed to work in the national team with Mario Getze as well and saw him come up as a substitute and scorer in the World Cup final in 2014.
Most importantly, he worked with the Bayern Munich squad not too long ago on a daily basis, and that squad travels almost entirely to Qatar.
Germany is able to place in the midfield and in the attack the vehicle on the purity of Bayern, and it may even be the optimal solution.
Yushua Kimich and Leon Goretzka are the favorite duo in Kishore, and they not only understand each other perfectly after more than four years together in Bavaria, but also excellent friends off the field who promote social projects together and broadcast on the same wave.
In front of them, Jamal Musiale and Thomas Muller can be placed, with Serge Gnabry and Leroy Sane manning the wings.
In fact, this quartet can be very flexible, as we saw many times at the Allianz Arena, because Gnabry and Sane enjoy cutting into the center, while Musiale and Müller flourish when they don't have a defined slot at all.
This is how you get six players at the high world level, who don't need to work on coordination at all.
They are already used to each other in their group, for more than two years.
Sana and Musiela were the last to join, and this happened in 2020, when Flick was still coaching them.
Add to the six Neuer and Nicklas Zola, who only moved from Bayern to Dortmund last summer, and you get eight players who excelled in one team with their national coach.
In a tournament that doesn't allow for early preparation, with only a few days from the squad meeting to the opening game, it is impossible to exaggerate the importance of this huge advantage.
There is no other team like this in the tournament, and the Germans will have the easiest time of all.
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Kimish and Gnabari celebrate in the national team (Photo: Reuters)
It is worth pointing a special spotlight in the direction of Musiale, because Flick is the reason why he chose to represent Germany.
The midfielder continued to play in England's youth teams even after the move from Chelsea to Bayern in 2019, and the final decision to switch sides was made in February 2021. A few days later, Lev announced that he would retire after the European Championship, and it was clear that Flick would be replaced.
Musiela had early information on the subject, and he preferred Germany mainly to continue working with the mentor he values most.
The European Championship came a little early for him, and he was included twice as a late substitute by Lev, but now the business is completely different.
Musiale deserves this World Cup on the standard of one of the biggest young stars in the world - maybe even the best of them.
He has 12 goals and 10 assists in 22 games this season in all competitions, and the rate of rise is breathtaking.
With phenomenal game vision, rare decision-making ability and maddening dribbling skills on very small areas, this is a player who is capable of being at the top of the world in the next decade, and even beyond.
There is no more suitable coach than Philick to give him the big stage, and it may well happen.
Musiale is capable of being the biggest star at the 2022 World Cup, especially when he is surrounded by players he knows from his team.
Now the business is different and he may be the star of the World Cup.
Musiala in front of Solomon (Photo: GettyImages, Alex Grimm)
Together with Musiale, young stars in the field are going to Qatar who will wait for the opportunity - 20-year-old Karim Adeyemi and 17-year-old Yusuf Mokoko.
Flick can also use the services of Kai Habertz, only 23 years old, but already very rich in experience, including scoring a winning goal in the Champions League final.
Some commentators believe that he will be the main striker of the team in the tournament, even if it is really not the ideal role for him, and perhaps it is better to avoid it.
For this purpose, even Niklas Polkrug, the most classic and old-fashioned central striker imaginable, who received an award at the age of 29 for his excellent scoring ability in a Bremen uniform, was summoned.
There is a very wide diversity here and in general the German staff is very deep.
If Ilkay Gundogan is supposed to be a bench player, the coach really has a positive headache.
Many players can fill several positions if necessary, and in the lead is Kimish who is considered again as a right defender - the most problematic position in the squad.
As of now, Fasal has flicked that option, and Tilo Carrer may play the position, even if he is a natural stopper by trade.
In the center of defense, Flick can rely on Antonio Rudiger, and he can be assigned the experienced Zola, the quiet Matthias Guenther from Freiburg or Nico Schulterback, who is defined as Germany's future stopper.
Although until recently there were quite a few doubts about the filling of the positions, this is a team without notable weak points.
It doesn't have a real superstar, but that's also an advantage, because it's a staff without ego problems - there's no one like Lothar Matthews or Michael Ballack who could pull the whole blanket in his direction.
With Flick's vast experience in the position, and with a collection of very experienced stars who have already won the World Cup, very young stars, and an essential middle layer with lots of players right at the peak of their careers, such as Kimmisch, Goretzka and Gnabry, Germany is definitely a candidate to win.
And the fact that the fans at home are pessimistic will only contribute to it.
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