Julian Brandt has admitted that the Germany squad held a crisis meeting in Qatar after admitting that the four-time champions are "in the s***".
Hansi Flick's men endured an horrendous start to their latest World Cup campaign, falling to a shock 2-1 defeat by Japan in their opening group game. It leaves Germany in a precarious position with a clash against Spain set to come on Sunday.
Another loss would likely end their hopes of progressing to the round of 16 and with it inflict the ignominy of being eliminated at the group stage for the second consecutive tournament. It is certainly a tough assignment for Die Mannschaft against a Spanish side that opened up their World Cup with a stunning 7-0 victory against Costa Rica earlier this week.
Work has been going on behind the scenes within the Germany camp, with Borussia Dortmund star Brandt confirming that talks have already been held between members of the playing squad and coaching staff. Speaking in a press conference, he said that “all the things we didn’t do well” were examined in detail in a meeting on Thursday, with a “good exchange of views” being at the forefront.
He continued: “I got the sense that everybody left the room feeling that we have the right mindset to win the game [against Spain]. We know we’re in the s*** now, but we lost the opening game against France [at Euro 2020], then beat Portugal to qualify for the knockouts.
“We should see Sunday as a chance to create some energy and turn things around. We will be well prepared.”
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Brandt is not the first player to have stressed the importance of the German’s showdown with Spain. Chelsea star Kai Havertz has emphasised the squad’s focus at the task at hand.
The forward said: "I can understand that there is negativity coming from a lot of fans. We're under a lot of fire. But I'm not worried.
“I don't care what happened in the past. It's a big game on Sunday. There's no point in having negative thoughts now. The focus is on the future for us."
Following their clash with Spain, Germany round off their group-stage assignments with a clash against Central American minnows Costa Rica. The four-time world champions were eliminated in their final group game in Russia four-and-a-half years ago.
Having beaten Sweden in dramatic circumstances, they ended up falling to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of South Korea due to two added-time goals, finishing bottom of their group as a result.
