After debacle against Japan: Germany fires national coach Hansi Flick Xherdan Shaqiri: “Without Switzerland this career would have been difficult”

The 1:4 against Japan was one defeat too many for Hansi Flick. On Sunday afternoon, the German Football Association announced that the 58-year-old had been released. “We have to change something,” DFB sports director Rudi Völler explained the decision. Völler, together with Hannes Wolf and Sandro Wagner, will provide one-off support for Germany against France on Tuesday.

“The committees agreed that the senior national team needs new impetus after recent disappointing results,” said DFB president Bernd Neuendorf. He described Flick’s expulsion as “inevitable”. Nine months before the 2024 home championship, the association must look for a new coach in one of the deepest sporting crises in its history. At the end of 2022, the DFB selection failed in the preliminary round of the World Cup – also after a defeat against Japan.

Flick took over as national coach from Joachim Löw after the 2021 European Championship and started with eight victories. Then his team faltered and Germany was eliminated in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup, just like four years earlier.

Contrary to his announcement that he wanted to find his ‘core team’ for the home tournament, Flick had again made major changes to his team against Japan. A new tactic with Joshua Kimmich as central right back in the run-up to the match went completely wrong. Flick suffered his heaviest defeat in his 25th international match.

Flick was allowed to lead the public training on Sunday morning. A few hours later his release was announced. Now the task for those responsible around Völler is to find a suitable successor who will get the German national team back on track for the European home championships next summer. Julian Nagelsmann and Oliver Glasner, among others, are traded. (nih/sda/dpa)