Germany need to go back to basics in defence after elimination: Flick

AL KHOR, Qatar: Germany have enough quality to become a dominant force in football again but one thing that is currently missing is their strength in defending which helped them win four World Cups, coach Hansi Flick said after they were knocked out on Thursday (Dec 1).

Germany finally won their first group game at the tournament in Qatar with a chaotic 4-2 victory over Costa Rica. But Japan's shock upset over Spain saw Flick's side finish third on goal difference and exit the tournament in the first round - just as they did in 2018.

When asked what Germany needed to be considered among the world's elite again, Flick said they needed to take a leaf out of Spain's book after their European counterparts built a young team with a strong tactical foundation.

"We do have players with top clubs and we do have the quality. For the future of German football, we need to train differently," Flick told reporters.

"For years we've been talking about new goalkeepers and wingbacks... but what was always good was that we defended well. We need the basics (to be right).

"Spain are good at training young players, they know their tactics very well. In the next 10 years, we need to focus on the new generation of footballers."

Germany scored only two goals before coming into the final group game and although Flick did not want to "look for excuses", he admitted one of the reasons for their early exit was a lack of efficiency in front of goal.

"I think against Spain we had a compact defence but it goes without saying you also have to have automatisms. We didn't have time to train, but it isn't due to that," Flick added.

"It would have been good to win against Spain, outrun the opponent and also reward ourselves with more goals - that would have been