Following Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Spain, Manuel Neuer expressed relief that Germany is “still alive” in the World Cup.
Germany’s unexpected loss to Japan in their opening encounter ended their chances of making it to the round of 16.
However, Costa Rica bounced back from a 7-0 drubbing at the hands of Spain by defeating Japan 1-0, leaving everything up for grabs in Group E’s remaining matches.
In the clash of the Group E powerhouses at Al Bayt Stadium, Alvaro Morata gave Spain the lead. However, Niclas Fullkrug, who came off the substitute, equalized and gave Germany its first point.
Hansi Flick’s Germany team needs to defeat Costa Rica in their last group game on Thursday in order to advance, and they also need to pray that Spain wins against Japan.
Goalkeeper Neuer is just happy that Germany still has a chance of avoiding a second consecutive World Cup loss at the group stage after Dani Olmo palmed his effort against the crossbar to deny him an early goal.
“It was a tough match against a very good Spain side,” said the Germany captain. “We took on the fight and didn’t allow them many chances over the 90 minutes.
“Our defensive work was superb from front to back. Our compactness made it difficult for them to score a goal against us. Their goal was simply quality and very hard to defend against. Nevertheless, we continued to believe in ourselves.
“The main thing is that we’re still alive. The thing we can have influence over is getting three points against Costa Rica.”
Hansi Flick’s ace up the sleeve 🃏#GER #FIFAWorldCup #ESPGER pic.twitter.com/HbAgj4qQ9j
— Germany (@DFB_Team_EN) November 27, 2022
After receiving a last-minute call-up to the team, Fullkrug only recently made his full international debut for Germany and scored his first goal in a competitive match.
The 29-year-old Werder Bremen striker said: “We were determined to get a result from the game, and it was very important for our confidence.
“We still have room for improvement. We don’t need to get carried away, but we can go into the final game with hope that we can make it through.”