Nine months before the start of the Euros, which they will organize, the German Football Association (DFB) made the most difficult, but also expected decision - they fired coach Hansi Flick.
The final straw was last night's loss to Japan in a friendly match with as much as 4:1.
"Today, at the suggestion of DFB President Bernd Neuendorf, the Supervisory Board decided to fire coach Hansi Flick and two assistants Markus Zorg and Dani Rell," the DFB statement reads.
Neuendorf also spoke.
"We all agreed that the men's senior team needed a new impetus after recent disappointing results. Given that the European Championship is in our country, we need a spirit of optimism and self-confidence. For me personally, this is one of the most difficult decisions since I have been in office, because I appreciate Hansi Flick and his assistants as football experts and people. But sports success is a top priority for the DFB, that's why this decision was inevitable", announced the first man of the Association.
In the friendly match with France on Tuesday, the team will be led by the director of the national team, Rudi Feller, and Hannes Wolff and Sandro Wagner (35).
It should only be a temporary solution, and "Bild" reports that the first, in fact, the only candidate for coach is Julian Nagelsman, who was fired from Bayern at the end of last season.
Flik was disappointing on the bench for Germany. At the World Cup in Qatar, his team was already eliminated in the group stage, and since then he has played six friendly games and registered a win, a draw and four losses, with a goal difference of 9:13.
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