Germany have the young talent to rebuild – but it’s all at one end of the pitch

When Hansi Flick was appointed Germany head coach after last year’s European Championship, it was with a view to revitalising a team that had become stale after 15 years under the stewardship of Joachim Löw. Now, after a second successive group-stage exit at a World Cup, German football could find itself in the grip of another identity crisis.

Flick, who served as assistant to Löw until the 2014 World Cup, which Germnay won in Brazil, enjoyed success at Bayern Munich, winning the league title twice and the Champions League in 2020, but he has been unable to replicate that with the national side so far. Germany still look like a team incapable of producing a convincing 90-minute performance.

Exhibit A was Thursday’s showing against