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Germany players sent a strong message to FIFA about banning the One Love armband for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Hansi Flick's side held their faces to symbolize the banning speech ahead of the clash against Japan. The move was quite a spectacle from the four-time World Champions.
The game, however, didn't go according to plan for the Germans. They dominated the entirety of the first half and had Ilkay Gundogan's spot kick to show for it.
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Japan, however, started coming back to the game in the second half, and Ritsu Doan brought the Asian giants level. Manuel Neuer parried Takumi Minamino's cross away only to see it turned home by Doran.
Takuma Asano scored a spectacular winner for Japan. Asano beat Nico Schlotterback before smashing it past Neuer in the Japan goal.
Germany will now have to make a strong comeback to stay relevant at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. They face Spain next on November 28, and a positive result is a must in that game to avoid getting knocked out of the group stages twice in a row.
Germany manager Hansi Flick was surprised with FIFA's decision to ban the One Love armband at the 2022 FIFA World Cup
Germany manager Hansi Flick expressed his astonishment at FIFA's decision to ban the "One Love" armband during the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Speaking to the media ahead of the clash against Japan, Flick, however, asked his team to shift their focus to the field (via The Japan Times):
“We are here to play football and I hope that the team will be able to implement what we practiced for against a team that is really good. I hope the team can have a good start, that is what we are tackling first."
Flick also said that he was expecting a difficult game against Japan and expressed his admiration towards the Japanese players, saying:
“If you look at the quality in Germany, in the Bundesliga, (Daichi) Kamada does a great job, (Wataru) Endo has been one of the best midfielders in recent years, I think, yes, we have quite the challenge ahead of us tomorrow and that is why we tried to prepare as well as we could and I am looking forward to it.”
