Preview: Germany vs. Colombia
With discontent towards Hansi Flick growing, Germany endeavour to end a three-game winless run against Colombia in Tuesday’s friendly at Arena AufSchalke.
Die Mannschaft suffered a dampening 1-0 defeat to Poland in their most recent exhibition game, while the visitors overcame Iraq by the same scoreline.
Had it not been for an exemplary display from Poland number one Wojciech Szczesny in between the sticks, Germany could have come away from Warsaw with more to show for their efforts on Friday, but the game will ultimately go down as another blot on Flick’s notebook.
Following a guard of honour for Poland veteran Jakub Blaszczykowski as he left the field 16 minutes into his farewell appearance, centre-back Jakub Kiwior headed in his first goal for his country only a couple of weeks after opening his Arsenal account – not a half-bad month for the 23-year-old.
Poland subsequently faced an onslaught of Germany attacks in the hour that followed, but Szczesny stood tall time and time again to deny Die Mannschaft, whose preparations for next year’s home European Championships can hardly get much worse.
Also being forced to come back from two goals down to draw with Ukraine and losing 3-2 to Belgium in March, Germany are ostensibly struggling to find their feet in Flick’s new setup, and four wins from their last 15 games in all tournaments is abysmal for a nation of their calibre.
However, Flick has been given a public vote of confidence by Mannschaft director Rudi Voller – who clearly feels that it is not the time to press the panic button just yet – and the hosts can at least take confidence from the fact that they have scored in 13 successive home friendlies since drawing a blank against Brazil in March 2018.
Preview: Germany vs. Colombia – prediction, team news, lineups
In stark contrast to Flick, newly-appointed Colombia boss Nestor Lorenzo has masterminded a magnificent run of results at the Colombia helm since his predecessor Reinaldo Rueda tried and failed to lead his side to the Qatar World Cup.
Over the past 12 months, Colombia have not engaged a single competitive fixture but have strung together an eye-catching eight-game unbeaten run in friendly matches, beating the likes of Japan and Mexico while shaking hands on a draw with the USA and South Korea.
Lorenzo’s men most recently locked horns with Iraq at Valencia’s Mestalla Stadium on Friday and came away with a 1-0 triumph courtesy of Mateo Cassierra’s second-half winner, extending their unbeaten streak across all tournaments to 10 matches, having picked up a pair of inconsequential wins over Bolivia and Venezuela to round off their failed World Cup 2022 qualifying campaign.
Once Tuesday’s game is done and dusted, preparations will commence for the CONMEBOL World Cup 2026 qualifying competition – which begins in September for La Tricolor – but for now, Lorenzo will seek to make it seven games without defeat since taking the Colombian reins.
While the form book makes for pleasant reading for Colombia, the historical records do not, as they have lost two and drawn two of their previous four fixtures with Germany, who cruised to a 3-0 friendly success during the teams’ last friendly showdown 17 years ago.
Germany friendly form:
WLDL
Germany form (all competitions):
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Colombia friendly form:
DWW
Colombia form (all competitions):
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We say: Germany 2-1 Colombia
There will seemingly be no quick fix for Germany’s defensive problems, and a free-scoring Colombia side should no doubt capitalise on their hosts’ recent lapses at the back.
However, with a bit more ruthlessness and luck, the hosts could and probably should have made the net ripple against Poland too, and Flick should oversee a narrow success to alleviate some of the pressure on his shoulders.