The German coach will not resign if he is eliminated from the group stage
"I can confirm from my side that I will continue to work," Flick said in his pre-match press conference. "I have a contract until 2024 and look forward to Euro 2024 being held at home. However, it is far from there."
Flick worked as an assistant to his predecessor Joachim Low in the German team from 2006-2014, with the team that won the 2014 World Cup. He made a splash when he led Bayern from 2019-2021, winning seven titles, including a treble. six 2020 with Bundesliga, German Cup, Champions League, German Super Cup, European Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup. In total, he led Bayern 86 matches, drew nine, lost seven and won 70 - reaching a rate of 81.4%.
Flick succeeds Low as Germany coach after Euro 2021, under a three-year contract signed in May 2021 with a salary of $6.7 million per year - the highest among coaches working in Qatar 2022. This year, Germany showed signs of prosperity when winning the first 13 matches, and was the first team to win tickets to the 2022 World Cup, after the host Qatar.
However, Germany fell when it did not win the last two official matches before the 2022 World Cup - losing 0-1 to Hungary at home at Red Bull Arena and drawing England 3-3 at the UEFA Nations League at the end of September. Going to Qatar, Germany also has not won when in turn lost to Japan 1-2 and drew Spain 1-1.
In the last turn today, Germany needs to win Costa Rica by at least two goals, if Japan and Spain split points in the match at the same time. In the event that Japan loses, Germany just needs to win whatever the score is. If they lose or draw with Costa Rica, the European representative will be at the bottom of the group and be eliminated from the group stage for two consecutive World Cups.
Flick insisted that he was not under any pressure, even after the opening match losing to Japan. He said: "I'm an optimist, and I don't think about being eliminated. Germany are in the situation they are in now because of our own fault. Now is the time for the whole team to give their all and win."
In theory, Germany still holds the right to self-determination when it is certain to continue if it defeats Costa Rica by more than 7 goals. However, Flick admits this scenario is not feasible. He also highly appreciated the fact that Costa Rica overcame the 0-7 loss to Spain to defeat Japan 1-0 in the next leg. "I think it would be disrespectful to Costa Rica to talk about the possibility of Germany scoring eight goals," emphasized the 57-year-old coach.
Today's match marked a historic milestone, with Stephanie Frappart becoming the first female referee to referee a match at the Men's World Cup. Supporting the 38-year-old referee were two other female referees, Neuza Back and Karen Diaz Medina.
Flick believes that the female referees will do a good job and deserve to be the main referee at the World Cup. Meanwhile, Lukas Klostermann - who sat next to Flick in the press conference - was not interested in the arbitration issue. "For me, whoever catches is the most normal thing in the world."
Frappart once held the whistle at the 2019 Women's World Cup final between the US and the Netherlands, the 2019 European Super Cup between Chelsea and Liverpool, the 2022 French Cup final between Nantes and Nice. Frappart is also the first female referee on duty in the Champions League and Men's World Cup qualifiers.
