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A botched World Cup start: Germany loses to Japan 1 : 2

That was nothing! The German team has conceded the next World Cup opening defeat in Qatar. As in 2018, the first game was lost. Of all things, two joker goals from two Japanese Bundesliga pros decided the game. After Ilkay Gündogan had given Germany the lead (33rd minute), Ritsu Doan from Freiburg (75th) and Takuma Asano from Bochum (83rd) scored. Even in the more than eight minutes of injury time, the team of national coach Hansi Flick did not manage to score. The chances they took were the major shortcoming against the strong Japanese in the stadium in Doha, which was filled with 42,608 spectators.

Protest after one-love ban

Just before kick-off, captain Manuel Neuer and his teammates made a much-publicised appearance. After the ban on the “One Love” captain’s armband, Neuer and his ten teammates demonstratively held their hands over their mouths during the team photo.

Sign of protest by the German team before the match against Japan Eugene Hoshiko/Copyright 2022 The AP. All rights reserved
Sign of protest by the German team before the match against Japan Eugene Hoshiko/Copyright 2022 The AP. All rights reserved

Germany’s Interior Minister Nancy Faeser wore the One Love armband at the stadium in Doha.

Neither was apparently shown on the official TV pictures from Qatar.

After the game, most of the German players threw their hands up in horror. The 1:2 puts Hansi flick’s men under enormous pressure. In the second match against Spain next Sunday, everything is at stake in the fight for a place in the last 16. If they fail to score against the World Cup favourites, the German national team could be eliminated from the preliminary round, just as it was in Russia in 2018.

By Klaus