Does Joshua Kimmich remember what he said before Germany’s opening match in this World Cup? There is no reason to believe he doesn’t. But I presume the German right back is now saying something starkly different in the dressing room.
Something along the lines of, “We lost the opening match, so what! Don’t you remember what happened in the 2010 World Cup?”
The same incident can easily be construed in two different ways if the situation demands it. So, what had Kimmich said earlier? He said, it’s very important they win the first match as they couldn’t win the trophy in the last Euro Championship after losing their opening game.
Kimmich didn’t go as far back as the 2018 World Cup though. In that tournament too, Germany lost their first match. They paid the price for it by getting eliminated from the first round of a World Cup for the first time in 80 years.
After losing their opening game against Japan, Germany is once again staring at that nightmarish prospect. Discussions are happening everywhere about the improbable possibility of Germany getting knocked out from the first round in consecutive World Cups.
If this possibility ends up becoming a reality, the shockwaves will be felt across the footballing world, not just in German football. And why wouldn’t it, after all, they are the most successful team in World Cup history.
The most successful? But what about Brazil!
Yes, Brazil is also a contender of this title as they have been the champions the most number of times. But in terms of consistency, no team is anywhere near Germany. Even Brazil haven’t managed to play in eight finals. The German greatness will become even more evident if one dives deeper into their history.
In the seven World Cup editions from 1966 to 1990, Germany made it to the semifinals six times and played the final on five occasions. From 2002 to 2014, Germany qualified for the semifinal on four straight editions, making the final twice.
All this is ancient history. However, in tough times teams look for inspiration from the past. It seems that the German coach Hansi Flick is doing the same. He is relying on the eternal fighting spirit of the Germans. That’s why when asked about pressure, he replied without any hesitation, “We are used to it. We have come back from such positions many times in the past.”
He is not wrong. Gary Linekar’s immortal saying about the German team didn’t come out of thin air.
“Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win,” the English striker said this from his own bitter experiences!
But even the German machine also breaks down sometimes. Like it did in the previous World Cup, and the last Euro. This time, the challenge is also much greater. Germany, who were rattled by an unexpected defeat in their first game, now have to face Spain, who played eye-catching football in their first game.
From what the Spanish camp is saying, it seems they are not just trying to ensure the second round qualification in the match against Germany, they also want to make a statement. Spanish midfielder Dani Olmo, who plays for Bundesliga club RB Leipzig, has declared this match as a final, even though they will still have a chance to qualify for the next round if they lose.
Olmo said, “Our first goal is to qualify. But ….” It’s quite evident that the dots after the ‘But’ mean knocking Germany out of the World Cup.
Spanish striker Asensio has also said in clear terms that he doesn’t want to face Japan in their final group-stage match with different equations about what they have to do to qualify for the next round running on his mind. He wants to ensure qualification against Germany.
There are many examples of teams getting eliminated from the first round after losing their opening game. But in only instance, a team has managed to win the trophy after losing the first game. Big teams search for inspiration from this stat after losing their opener. Kimmich also must be searching for inspiration from there as I presumed at the beginning of this write-up.
The irony is, Kimmich and Germany are taking inspiration from the feat achieved by their opponents in today’s (Sunday) match.
In 2010, Spain became champions even after losing their opening match against Switzerland. After Argentina began their World Cup campaign with a defeat against Saudi Arabia, this record was brought up by many. It was discussed even more after Germany also lost their opening fixture.
Even though Argentina and Germany have never become champions after mucking up their tournament openers, both teams have made it to the final after starting the campaign with a defeat.
In 1990, Argentina played the final, even after losing to Cameroon in their opening match. In the 1982 tournament, Germany did this after losing to Algeria in their opener.
Germany’s road to the final in the 1982 edition was very arduous. Germany was up against Austria in their last group-stage match. Algeria and Chili, the other two teams in their group, had already played their final group phase match the day before.
The equation for Germany was that if they won by one or two goals against Austria, then both Germany and Austria would advance to the next round and Algeria would get eliminated.
Inside10 minutes, Germany scored twice. For the rest of the game, both teams played drab football. That’s why the match, which took place in Gijon, Spain, is known as the ‘Disgrace of Gijon’.
There is no chance of something like this happening now. But if Germany gets knocked out from the first round for the second straight World Cup, it could definitely be called a ‘Disgrace’ in another sense!
*This report appeared in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten for the English edition by Ashfaq-Ul-Alam Niloy