Overview
- The former Germany coach, in a Wednesday interview with Funke Mediengruppe, urged the DFB and captain Joshua Kimmich to avoid political gestures at the June 11 to July 19 tournament.
- He argued that debating social issues during the event hurts performance and said teams that do so go home early.
- Recalling 2022, he called the German players’ mouth-covering photo after FIFA banned the One-Love armband absolutely disrespectful to Qatar.
- He criticized a German habit of pre-judging host nations and said the team should show respect to the United States, Mexico and Canada and focus on football.
- Living in the U.S., he said he sees the problems but urged fans to judge in person, calling America a great country, and he also disclosed his son Jonathan had neck surgery in Heidelberg after a match injury with a lengthy recovery ahead.