Image Source – Martin Meissner /
The Barcelona midfielder, who debuted as the captain of Germany, was straightforward after his team suffered a 1-4 defeat in Wolfsburg. Ter Stegen, with several noteworthy interventions, prevented the Japanese rout from being even greater.
It wasn’t the dream debut for Ilkay Gündogan as the captain of the German national team. The FC Barcelona midfielder, to whom his coach, Hans Flick, handed the captain’s armband in the absence of Manuel Neuer, will remember his captaincy debut forever. Ter Stegen, also a starter, and who wore the number 1 jersey in the absence of the Bayern goalkeeper, conceded four goals (1-4) in the friendly against Japan, the same team that spoiled the Germans’ debut in the last World Cup in Qatar.
The Germans conceded four goals, but if it weren’t for Ter Stegen, who had several noteworthy interventions, the defeat could have been even greater. In the 11th minute, Real Madrid’s Rüdiger scored an own goal, opening the path to victory for Japan in Wolfsburg. Although Sané managed to equalize the score, just eight minutes later, Ueda scored the 1-2, which would be the halftime score. The final blows from the Japanese came in the closing moments. Asano in the 90th minute and Tanaka in injury time sealed the rout.
After the match, Gündogan, in statements to RTL, didn’t sugarcoat the defeat: “The Japanese were simply better today, both in defense and in attack. They played well, moved the ball around nicely, played in the right spaces, and created many scoring opportunities. We need to think about it, we must acknowledge it. We are just making too many individual mistakes. We have to accept that we are not good enough at the moment,” he said.
Gündogan elaborated on Germany’s poor form: “It’s obvious, we’re just not good enough. That’s the reality. Maybe we thought we were better than we are. It’s a very sad day,” he admitted.
When asked about the future of Flick, who is facing a lot of criticism in Germany after this defeat, the Barcelona midfielder responded, “Yes. When you see how motivated he is, the words he tells us after the match. But at some point, it’s not just a matter of the coach; it’s also a matter of the team,” he added.
