Niclas Füllkrug can not understand the German public ‘s approach to Die Mannschaft. The Werder Bremen striker, who scored twice at the World Cup, lacked support from his nation in the public debate.
“I am not afraid to make this statement. I stand by it. It is frightening how much the national team has been put in a bad light by the public in Germany,” the 29-year-old attacker told Sport Bild. “I am extremely sorry about that.”
As a spectator at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Füllkrug experienced the same problem. “The national team is sometimes wished for failure rather than success. I do not know why. I can only say one thing: every player on the field is incredibly proud to wear the German jersey.”
Germany experienced a very disappointing World Cup. The opening game was lost to Japan. In the other two group matches, the damage could not be repaired. A 1-1 draw against Spain followed. The 4-2 victory over Costa Rica in the last group game was not enough to qualify for the knockout phase.
Compatriot’s praise for Füllkrug
The striker, however, is already a favourite within the dressing room. “Fülli is a really cool guy,” said the 33-year-old attacker at ZDF. “He was added to the selection for this. He has a nice kind of self-confidence and really fell in tonight,” said Müller, who is still hopeful about placement for the eighth final. “It wasn’t a flawless performance from us, but we still have chances. We played 1-1 against one of the top favourites,” he added.
Flick was also impressed by the way Füllkrug came in. “He did very well with the willpower he came in with. There was conviction in that shot. We still had the chance to make it 2-1, but we missed it. We have to work on that, because that has to do with confidence,” said the national coach, who complimented his team for the resilience shown.
