Four-time FIFA World Cup champions Germany have welcomed a new era of international football when the German Football Association decided to sack 58-year-old manager Hansi Flick less than a year from their home event of the 2024 UEFA European Championship. Die Mannschaft, now led by interim manager and former AS Roma forward Rudi Völler, began their post-Hansi Flick era with a international friendly match against 2022 FIFA World Cup finalist France last night and the managerless side were able to beat Didier Deschamps’s Les Bleus with a score line of 2-1 at home, thanks to goals from Bayern Munich duo Thomas Müller and Leroy Sané.
Müller Back to the Starting Lineup
After bidding farewell to Hansi Flick for international duties, a familiar face was reinserted to the Germany national football team starting lineup in this friendly against the two-time world champion: 34-year-old veteran forward Thomas Müller, who has not started a game since Die Mannschaft’s 4-2 win over Costa Rica in the final Group E fixture of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar; The match also concluded Germany’s journey in the quadrennial tournament, seeing themselves being eliminated in the group stage for the second time in a row.
Prior to this match against France, Germany has only won one of their last six matches at international stage, losing four of their last five games, including a three-game losing streak. The game at Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund saw Völler opt for a 4-5-1 formation with Müller leading the front, while the visitors, who are without captain Kylian Mbappé due to a knee injury sustained in Monday’s training session, went for a 4-4-2 instead in this match.
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A Goal at Each End of the Playing Time Sealed the Victory for the Germans
The Germans got off to a flying start in their first game without former head coach Hansi Flick by scoring the first goal after 200 seconds into the game. Benjamin Henrichs first charged towards the penalty box, before sending the ball wide to Serge Gnabry, who then took a dribble and passed it back to the 26-year-old left-back. Henrichs wasted no time to deliver the ball into the penalty box, allowing Müller to have the time to control the ball well with his chest and slot home his 45th goal for the four-time FIFA World Cup winners.
Just when everyone thought the game was going to end with Die Mannschaft being the 1-0 winner, late goals were spotted in the last minutes of the match with the home side finding their second goal of the evening and France pulling one back from the spot a minute before the added time was awarded. 23-year-old French debutant Jean-Clair Todibo was guilty for Germany’s second, when his mistimed pass was intercepted by Jonathan Tah. The Bayer Leverkusen centre-back passed it first time to Kai Havertz, before the Arsenal’s new summer signing tore the entire French defence down with his laser through ball to the speedy Sané to double the German lead.
Nevertheless, the 27-year-old turned from hero to zero seconds later when he tackled Real Madrid‘s Eduardo Camavinga in the box, followed by French skipper Antoine Griezmann’s conversion of a penalty. Fortunately to Germany and Sané, that was as far as the visitors could go, and the home side finally won their first game since almost half a year ago and snapped their losing streak occurred during the last stretch of Hansi Flick’s reign as the manager.
Germany defeat France 2-1 to end their five-game winless streak and win their first match since March 👊 pic.twitter.com/kqYoJeXcN7
— B/R Football (@brfootball) September 12, 2023
Who Is Going After Hansi Flick’s Ex-Job?
The cloudy future of German international football was momentarily cleared after the team earned their tenth win over the French in 33 meetings in the history of football and won for the first time after sacking manager Hansi Flick.
All eyes now will be on Germany’s intention in naming their next manager after Hansi Flick’s removal for upcoming major tournament like the 2024 UEFA Euro which the country is hosting and aiming for a four-crown this time around. Sources have told that Liverpool head coach Jürgen Klopp has no intention of assuming the position, leaving former Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann as the clear favourite to succeed another former head coach of the Bavarians Hansi Flick in the German gaffer role.
If you are interested to know more about Hansi Flick’s dismissal as the head coach of Die Mannschaft, we have all the information covered in this article, check it out now! Besides, stay tuned to OtherLeague.com as we will bring you the latest happenings regarding coaching changes of the Germany men’s national team as well as football and other sports news.
