Germany, the four-time World Champion, was knocked out of the Qatar FIFA World Cup group stage. It was the second consecutive group stage exit for the former champions. Although they won their last group game against Costa Rica, the goal difference was not enough for them to qualify for the knockouts. After returning home, they held several meetings to retrospect the reasons behind the embarrassing exit.
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Apart from the poor performance of certain players, and coach Hansi Flick’s tactics, many officials believe that the presence of WAGs (Wives and Girlfriends) was the reason behind the team’s poor show.
German officials blame WAGs for poor show in FIFA World Cup
The German publication Bild, there’s criticism that the holiday feeling prevailed at the German camp. German players invited their WAGs to the resort, where Germany stayed for two days after a 1-1 draw against Spain. Many officials were not happy after what happened next.
😱 @f95 midfielder Ao Tanaka has just eliminated Germany from the #FIFAWorldCup!
Tanaka’s historic winner against Spain earns him hero status in Japan, and tonight’s @Budweiser Player of the Match award.
🇯🇵 #JPNESP 🇪🇸 #POTM #YoursToTake #BringHomeTheBud @budfootball pic.twitter.com/eCpcCePWwd
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 1, 2022
Team officials and the players were not on good terms after WAGs joined the team, as officials blamed the players were busy taking care of the children and WAGs enjoyed. It seemed like WAGs were in holiday mode.
Although, this was not only the off-the-pitch reason. The resort where Germany stayed was around 70 miles from the stadium, and it took 75 minutes to travel for the team to the venue of the matches. Also, FIFA fined Germany once, as only Hansi Flick attended the press conference. Flick wanted his players to focus on training instead of taking a three-hour trip for a press conference.
Despite officials blaming the WAGs, the WAGs stayed with the team only after the first two matches. Germany lost to Japan in their opening game. The defeat to Japan was shocking, and Japan beat Spain in the last group game to knock out Germany. Germans came back stronger in the next game but were held to a draw by Spain. The big win against Costa Rica was not enough for Germany as they bowed out on the goal difference.
Germany to continue with Hansi Flick until Euro 2024
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Everyone expected that Hansi Flick won’t be at the helm of the German national team after a poor show at the World Cup. But the federation made a decision that Flick will be the coach until Euro 2024. They want the project under the Flick to continue.
Euro 2024 will take place in Germany from 14th June 2024 to 14th July 2024. There will be huge expectations from German soccer fans for the team. The fans would hope the German team makes amendments to the poor World Cup performance during the Euros.
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What do you think of the reason (WAGs holiday mood) put forth by some German officials behind the performance of the team? Also, let us know in the comments the decision to continue with Hansi Flick as a coach.