Can Hansi Flick’s new look Germany go all the way in Qatar?

It’s hard to believe that July saw Germany celebrate the eight-year anniversary of their 2014 World Cup success in Brazil. Mario Götze’s iconic strike against Argentina will forever be etched into the history of the Nationalelf as a steely team with a combination of potential and proficiency lifted the trophy inside the Maracanã.
That trip to South America serves as a time capsule for the best of German football, and while Pep Guardiola would go on to influence the contingent of Bayern Munich players, the Germans failed to build a dynasty under national team coach Joachim Löw.

A collapse in Russia saw his side embarrassingly fail to make it out of the group despite being favourites for the competition amongst World Cup bets, and a premature exit from the delayed Euro 2020 tournament bought an end to Löw’s 15-year tenure. Often criticised for his team selection, the job was handed over to former assistant Hansi Flick, who ensured Germany qualified for Qatar in emphatic style. One of the most highly-rated coaches in Europe, Flick won the treble with Bayern in 2020, albeit in a behind-closed-doors Champions League final against Paris Saint Germain, and is known for his tactical flexibility and remarkable man-management. Indeed, he took the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Joshua Kimmich to the next level of their careers, and had it not been for the coronavirus pandemic, the former would perhaps have won the Ballon d’Or.

The next step for Flick is to transform the Germans into that ruthlessly efficient unit that can go all the way in Qatar. While the likes of Brazil and France are being touted to win the tournament according to FIFA World Cup news, this is a new-look German side that cruised to the World Cup scoring a plethora of goals. It’s their hunger in the final third that is perhaps most impressive, racking up several high-scoring wins including a 9-0 rout against Lichtenstein, consecutive 4-0 wins against North Macedonia and Iceland, and a 6-0 thumping of Armenia whilst conceding just four goals in Group J.

Stylistically, Flick’s team look suited to tournament football. They face a group consisting of Japan, Spain and Costa Rica, sides that will be susceptible to the pace they possess on the break. Kai Havertz has been operating as a false nine and that’s provided space for Leroy Sané and Timo Werner to use their pace to get in behind defenders. Thomas Müller has a fantastic goal record at the World Cup and he joins Manuel Neuer as the last of the old guard from Brazil after Toni Kroos retired from international football. İlkay Gündoğan missed that tournament through injury but his fine form over the last couple of years at Manchester City should see him called up. Jamal Musiala and Karim Adeyemi represent exciting options as young players.

However, recent friendlies have shown that this side are still not the finished article. They made hard work of a 3-3 draw with England at Wembley after squandering a two-goal lead, and their game management simply has to be better if they are to reach the latter stages of the competition in Qatar, something Flick himself noted.
“There are a lot of positives we can take from the game,” he said. “But some negatives too that we will have to address. The team came back and equalized after conceding three quick goals. It was a good test.
I’m absolutely convinced that once we finalise the squad and meet on 14 November, I’ll go to the World Cup with a very positive feeling.”

Only time will tell how far Germany go in Qatar, but if they can turn their goalscoring form into wins at the business end of the competition, the celebrations from the Lusail Iconic Stadium in Doha could certainly match those from Rio eight years ago.