The only direct DFB way: An 8-0 destroys all conspiracy scenarios

Doesn't Spain want to finish first in German Group E at the World Cup? Before the group finals, the local press open this mind game.

The only direct DFB way: An 8-0 destroys all conspiracy scenarios

Doesn't Spain want to finish first in German Group E at the World Cup? Before the group finals, the local press open this mind game. The runners-up in the group actually have the easier way through the tournament ahead of them.

The situation at the World Cup is equally easy (to understand) and difficult (to implement) for the German national team: If the team of national coach Hansi Flick wants to reach the round of 16 and not be dependent on the result in the parallel group game between Spain and Japan and To avoid possible shifts in the competition due to a major Spanish rotation, the German team must score at least eight goals. Sounds absurd, sure, but doesn't seem impossible. The Spaniards finally showed how to get very close to this result. The first game was 7-0 despite a Keylor Navas between the Costa Rican posts who won the Champions League three times.

Hansi Flick, however, warns against outlining an 8-0 win against the Central Americans, who are actually defensively strong, as a feasible scenario. At the press conference ahead of the do-or-die game, he said with maximum clarity: "It would be disrespectful if we assumed we would score eight goals." A legitimate note. Be happy if you win the game at all. That, in turn, is an unnecessary understatement. Sure, Costa Rica had surprisingly beaten Japan and is therefore still involved in the fight for the round of 16 ticket, but the victory was extremely lucky. The only chance, with the kind help of goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda, resulted in a late 1-0 win. Flick now has to weigh up a stable defense and offensive power.

Means: How much risk does the national coach allow himself? Against Spain he entrusted his left-back David Raum with a surprising number of defensive tasks, which was at the expense of his offensive advances. This chain is presumably loosened. After all, Jamal Musiala will not only be able to dribble magic, but also crosses from the outside. And then, of course, a buyer in the center. Striker Niclas would not only be a top option because of his goal against Spain and his outstanding self-confidence, his final strength stands out fundamentally from the efficiency problems of the other offensive forces.

And so the football-interested part of the Germans deal with the question of the nation: Does "gap" play and if so, does Thomas Müller have to give way, Flick's extended arm on the field? There will be an answer to the question around 6.45 p.m., then the list will be published. It is possible that both players will get a place in the starting eleven and that Serge Gnabry will be rotated to the bench. The FC Bayern winger has been quite agile so far, but missed numerous top chances. If one of the highest results in German football history is to succeed - the highest victory still dates from July 1, 1912, when Russia was defeated 16-0 in the intermediate round of the Olympic Games in front of 2,500 spectators - you need callousness in front of the goal. Bitter irony: Gnabry was one of the best in the last German 8-0 win so far, which he achieved on June 11, 2019 in the European Championship qualifier against Estaland, scoring two goals. This game was one of the last great highlights of Joachim Löw's era.

Why an 8-0 win is discussed at all is also due to the fact that there were debates in the Spanish media as to whether a first place in the table would be desirable at all with a view to the further course of the tournament - this would be certain with a win against Japan. Because Brazil, one of the big favorites, would probably be waiting for the winner of German Group E in the quarter-finals if they won in the round of 16. The way through the tournament seems easier for the runners-up in the group: Morocco, Belgium or Croatia are waiting in the round of 16, in the quarter-finals Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal would be a possible opponent. The runners-up in the group would only meet Brazil in a possible final - if Brazil didn't surprisingly give away the group victory.

Of course, the Spaniards know the constellation: "The thought can already go through your head. But we are here to win all the games. And to get to the final you have to beat the best. So it's not something we think about think," said defender Eric Garcia about the "risk of finishing first", as "Marca" wrote. National coach Luis Enrique dismissed any planning games: "If it's against Brazil - then let's play against them! We can't speculate at this level. We want to win the group because we want to be better than everyone else. And um To become world champion, you have to beat everyone anyway."

As the sports newspaper "AS" speculates, however, Enrique will give several stars protection against Japan. World champions France saw where that can lead to: national coach Didier Deschamps shook his squad for the last group game - and lost 1-0 to outsiders Tunisia. Fortunately for Deschamps and in the interest of the competition, this did not affect the final table of Group C. Games at this World Cup are "no longer 90-minute games, but 105-minute games," said Deschamps, referring to the long stoppage times. That's why the break is all the more important for some players - "we've achieved our goal."

In the event of a Spanish defeat and their own victory, the team of national coach Flick would have to make up eight goals behind when adding the two results. In the event of an identical difference, it depends on the higher number of goals scored. So: If Japan wins 4-0 against Spain and Germany against Costa Rica, the DFB team would have made up the eight-goal difference - but Spain would have moved into the round of 16 due to the more goals scored (8) compared to the DFB team (6).

The last time Spain lost in the preliminary round at the 2014 World Cup was a four-goal difference when there was a bitter 5-1 draw against the Netherlands. If Germany wins by at least eight goals - i.e. 8:0, 9:1, 10:2 and so on - there is no need to look at the parallel game. In the event of a defeat, Spain would then be out. And any thought of a conspiracy theory would be invalid.