Ruthless analysis

DFB icon: “Can’t keep up internationally”

Not everyone saw the German national team's performance at the European Championships as rosy as many fans and experts.(Bild: AP)

The German national team received a lot of praise from fans and experts despite their quarter-final elimination at the European Championship on home soil against eventual winners Spain. A true DFB legend cannot understand this. "We don't have enough world class in German soccer, we can't keep up with the top international teams," was Berti Vogts' ruthless analysis.

Vogts, who became European (1972) and World Champion (1974) as an active player and won the European Cup (1996) as DFB team manager, lacks the necessary criticism in a column in the "Rheinische Post", "when I follow the assessments of the experts and media". They were "eliminated in the quarter-finals, again very early for a German team".

We shouldn't "be too naive about the situation. We don't have enough world class in German soccer, we can't keep up with the top international teams. Not with the national team and not in club soccer either," said Vogts.

"Too few individualists"
In terms of individual talent, countries such as Spain, France and England are much better placed. "Yamal, Bellingham, Foden, Mbappe, that's just the spearhead of so many top players there. With Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz, we have two who can keep up with them. Two! That's not enough. We have too few individualists, too few specialists. That's where we have to start," is the ruthless analysis of the former world-class defender.