2023-09-04 17:57:59
So now he’s back: Thomas Müller is returning to the national team. National coach Hansi Flick has nominated the 33-year-old for the international matches once morest Japan (September 9) and France (September 12). Or: He nominated him. Müller makes his comeback in the DFB dress because Niclas Füllkrug threatens to fail. The way in which Müller is reinstated among the best German footballers suggests that Flick is not acting out of conviction.
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Little playing time, injury – Müller’s tough start to the season
Rather, dealing with the Müller personnel shows how difficult it is for Flick to push ahead with the upheaval in the DFB team. The 121-time national player was an absolute top performer in the national team in the past decade, but his time seemed finally over following the weak World Cup in Qatar.
A return actually seemed impossible at the current time, Hansi Flick also indicated when nominating the squad last Thursday. The injury, due to which Müller had missed large parts of the preparation, the lack of playing time (in the first three games of the season, the 2014 world champion came to a total of 94 minutes) – all arguments spoke once morest a nomination of the FC Bayern player.
Hardly any changes to the World Cup in Qatar
“New influences are important for a team to live and develop,” Flick justified the non-nomination of established top performers following the World Cup and counted them. Nine months later, the national team’s midfield and attacking side are very similar to the squad that didn’t progress past the group stage in Qatar. Pascal Groß (Brighton & Hove Albion) was added, Florian Wirtz replaced Mario Götze, Kevin Schade (FC Brentford) came on for Youssoufa Moukoko (Borussia Dortmund) and Leon Goretzka was given a break to think. Otherwise you will look in vain for new influences.
It is also surprising that Müller should compensate for the loss of Niclas Füllkrug. With 44 national team goals, Müller is the top scorer of active DFB players (7th place in DFB history), but neither his hit rate (0.36 goals/game) nor his style of play is that of a real centre-forward, which the DFB so urgently looking for.
Possible alternatives in the center of the storm: Volland? Werner? Behrens?
There are certainly alternatives, but apparently Flick is not really convinced of any of them: Not even Timo Werner (RB Leipzig), whom Flick has not nominated once more. Although Werner is not necessarily massive, he brings other important qualities with his speed and pressing power. He scored 24 goals in 57 games for Germany.
Former FC Augsburg player Mergim Berisha (now Hoffenheim) doesn’t seem to have made a lasting impression on his national team debut in March. Kevin Behrens (32) from Union Berlin has already scored four times this Bundesliga season, but he is currently not believed to be capable of a DFB career like that of Füllkrug. With his return to the Bundesliga, team-mate Kevin Volland might once more become the focus of the national coach, who had already nominated him for two World Cup qualifiers in 2021. Moukoko should only rarely get playing time following Dortmund signed von Füllkrug.
No time for “Jugend forscht”
In the long run, it might be worth taking a look at the U-national teams: Maximilian Beier (20), who is currently fighting for a regular place at TSG Hoffenheim, plays there and has two goals and preparation in three Bundesliga games (a total of 100 minutes playing time). drew attention. Tim Lemperle (21) is currently a regular at SpVgg Greuther Fürth, but hasn’t scored since his debut.
But Flick no longer has time to work long-term. In nine months, the opening game of the EM 2024 in the Munich Arena is on the calendar. And the construction sites in the DFB team are big and Flick’s coaching chair wobbles a lot. This is one of the reasons why he would rather rely on the tried and tested than on the joy of experimentation.
Two convincing performances once morest Japan and France would help both Flick and Müller have a longer future with the national team. Because the national team’s last convincing game dates back to June 14, 2022 – a 5-2 win over Italy. Thomas Müller was involved with one goal at the time.
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