“A wake-up call” – Hansi Flick demands strong reaction from Germany in final test against England before 2022 FIFA World Cup

Bundestrainer Hansi Flick has urged Germany to bounce back from Friday’s 0-1 defeat against Hungary. Speaking after Die Nationalmannschaft’s discouraging showing in Leipzig’s Red Bull Arena, the former Bayern Munich coach admitted his squad has dealt a reality check in time for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Flick has now called on Thomas Müller and co. to draw on this experience and show their character when they take on fierce International rivals England in the final UEFA Nations League clash.

“The defeat has perhaps come at the right time,” said Flick in a post-match interview with DFB. “The first half in particular opened our eyes. We have to draw conclusions from that and do better next time. The loss won’t knock us down. It’s better to suffer now than at the World Cup. The team has been given a wake-up call, and that’s good for us.”

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The Nations League finals may be out of reach for Germany but the upcoming match against England will serve as one last chance for the 2014 World Cup winners to test themselves against high-quality opposition before the big kick-off in Qatar. Flick expects his players to brush aside the recent setback and come out fighting against Gareth Sothgate’s team.

“I expect every single player to work on himself,” the 56-year old added. “Only then will we get the conviction and the quality we need. For every single player, it’s an incentive to give everything on Monday and to use the six weeks after that to be prepared. We have to look to play better over 90 minutes against England.”