Gündogan's harsh statement after Germany's heavy defeat against Japan

The German National Team suffered another blow. Since the Qatar World Cup, when they were eliminated in the first round after losing to Japan, drawing with Spain and beating Costa Rica, everything has gone wrong for them. Performances have been below expectations, results have been abysmal and the criticism for the players and coach Hansi Flick is getting harsher and harsher.

As the organizers of Euro 2024 and therefore already assured of their place in the tournament, the Germans are not playing in the qualifiers. That's why this Saturday they faced Japan in a friendly match in Wolfsburg and suffered an unexpected 4-1 defeat. It is the fourth match they have lost out of the last 5 they have played this year (2-3 vs Belgium, 3-3 vs Ukraine, 0-1 vs Poland and 0-2 vs Colombia). The last win was on March 25, 2-0 against Peru.

After the match, coach Hansi Flick and skipper Ilkay Gündogan held a press conference in which they tried to explain the reasons for the team's poor form.

The midfielder did not hesitate to show his frustration and said: "Today is a very bitter, disappointing day. Japan was better in everything, in attack and defense. We made a lot of mistakes that left them one-on-one with Marc (Ter Stegen). This is the reality. Maybe we think we're better than we really are."

Coach in trouble

While the players have also been targeted for their mistakes and poor performances, it is Hansi Flick who is taking the brunt of the criticism for the failures of the German national team. At the press conference, the manager took responsibility for what has happened, but was also confident that he could put it right: “I still feel I'm the right man for the job, but I also know that soccer is dynamic, so you can't predict what will happen. My staff and I are doing our best to prepare the team perfectly.”