Germany squad divided into 2 camps due to Hansi Flick's bias towards Bayern Munich players at 2022 FIFA World Cup: Reports

Germany's national team camp was reportedly divided into two groups before their 2022 FIFA World Cup group-stage exit due to Hansi Flick's favoritism towards Bayern Munich players in Qatar.

Germany, a four-time FIFA World Cup champion, failed to progress to the knockout stages of the tournament after finishing third in Group E with four points from three games. Japan topped the group with six points while Spain finished second due to a higher goal difference.

After opening their campaign with a shock 2-1 loss to Japan, Die Mannschaft eked out their first point of the tournament with a well-contested 1-1 draw against Spain. Despite a 4-2 win over Costa Rica, Flick's side failed to advance to the last 16 for the second time in a row.

According to BILD, Germany's camp was split into two – the Bayern Munich clique and the rest of the squad – during the ongoing FIFA World Cup. Flick was accused of bias towards the Bavarian players due to his prior relationship with them as a former Bayern manager.

In Germany's 2022 FIFA World Cup squad, seven players feature for the reigning Bundesliga champions. During his 18-month stint at Allianz Arena, Flick coached Manuel Neuer, Thomas Muller, Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, Serge Gnabry, Jamal Musiala and Leroy Sane.

Meanwhile, Germany sporting director Oliver Bierhoff had his contract terminated earlier this week after the team's failure at the quadrennial tournament. Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has emerged as a front-runner for the DFB role, as per DW Sports.

Flick is expected to hold a meeting with DFB president Bernd Neuendorf and vice-president Watzke later this week to analyze the reasons for the national team's poor performance in the Middle East.

Lionel Messi comments on Germany getting knocked out of 2022 FIFA World Cup

Speaking to Diario Ole, Argentina and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) superstar Lionel Messi claimed that he was astounded by Germany's exit from the ongoing 2022 FIFA World Cup. He elaborated:

"It surprised me because they had many important players, a young team and because Germany is always among the best. It's surprising that they were eliminated in the group stage once again. But this is the World Cup, which shows how difficult the competition is, how even everything is and that the name of the team doesn't matter."

Messi, on the other hand, is next scheduled to be in action against the Netherlands at the last-eight stage in Lusail on Friday (9 December).