Crisis deepens for Euro 2024 hosts Germany with 1-0 loss to Poland
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Jakub Kiwior celebrates scoring for Poland.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WARSAW – Germany coach Hansi Flick insisted he is still “very confident”, as his side stumbled to a 1-0 friendly loss in Poland on Friday to continue their disappointing run less than a year before they host Euro 2024.
Jakub Kiwior’s bouncing header snatched only the second victory for the hosts over the Germans in 90 years, while Germany have now won only three of their last 10 international matches.
The four-time world champions, who play Colombia next week in their last international game before the summer break, are pressured to build a battle-worthy team for their home Euro.
Following their disappointing 2022 first-round World Cup exit in Qatar, Germany have so far failed to show clear signs of recovery even though their second-half performance on Friday was an improvement from their opening 45 minutes.
They have managed just one win – over Peru – in their four matches since the World Cup.
“It is still a long way and there is enough time,” said Flick.
“I am very confident in relation to the path we have to take. We will have a functioning team by next June. It is a process we will go together. The team is ready to do it.
“We are in a phase which is not that easy. But we will come out of it. We can build on our second-half performance even though the result is, of course, not enough for us.”
The Germans, who needed two late goals to rescue a 3-3 draw against Ukraine on Monday, were almost caught out when Jakub Blaszczykowski chased down a deep cross but Malick Thiaw’s well-timed tackle denied the 37-year-old.
The hosts kept breaking through the shaky German backline with Jakub Kaminski’s shot form a tight angle saved by goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Germany went behind in the 31st minute when Kiwior’s glancing header bounced off the ground first and into the net.
Germany’s Niclas Fullkrug and Marius Wolf look dejected after the match.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Flick’s men looked sharper in the second half and piled on the pressure right after the restart, threatening with Robin Gosens before Joshua Kimmich saw his effort bounce off the crossbar.
Thiaw, making his Germany debut, got close to an equaliser with a fine turn and shot in the box but goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny produced his best moment of the night to block it.
Wing-back Gosens, who played for Inter Milan as they lost the Champions League final to Manchester City 1-0, urged Germany to get the country “into a spirit of optimism” and support the team for the European Championship.
“We know this can only be done through results, through victories,” he said. REUTERS, AFP
