Germans blame WAGs for World Cup failure
Reports suggest that players and team officials were not happy with the “holiday feeling” surrounding Germany at the World Cup. The Germans ended their tournament run prematurely. Four points after three games sent the 2014 World Cup winners packing before the knockout round.
Bild is claiming that DFB president Bernd Neuendorf and vice president Hans-Joachim Watzke held a meeting with coach Hansi Flick regarding the team’s stay in Qatar. The summit, supposedly lasting a few hours, mostly centered around the secluded resort where Germany stayed at.
WAGs take Germany blame for World Cup failure
Some voiced concerns in the meeting over the fact that significant others stayed at the resort. Following the team’s 1-1 draw against Spain in matchday two of the World Cup, wives and girlfriends, or WAGs, were invited for a two-night stay with Germany. This apparently caused friction with certain players and team officials.
During the stay, team members reportedly took issue with players taking care of their kids while their significant others lounged in the pool.
Another issue brought up in the meeting was the resort itself. The German team stayed at the Zulal Wellness Resort in Qatar. The five-star resort is on the northern tip of the country and sits on the Arabian Gulf.
Resort nearly 70 miles from Doha
While the accommodations were surely fantastic, it is also one of the furthest resorts from Doha. Stadiums for the 2022 World Cup were in and around the capital city. Zulal Wellness Resort is about an 75-minute drive to downtown Doha.
The distance between the resort and the city caused issues earlier in the tournament as well. FIFA launched a probe into why Flick showed up to a press conference without a player. The governing body of the sport typically makes players accompany their manager to the press conference.
Flick defended the move by saying that he did not want to subject his players to the three-hour round trip.
The German FA reveled on Wednesday that Flick will remain head coach of the team. German soccer federation technical director Oliver Bierhoff previously resigned following the team’s lackluster display at the tournament.
PHOTO: IMAGO / Moritz Müller