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Hansi Flick says Germany have high expectations of making a big impact in the 2022 World Cup despite being drawn in a tough group that includes Spain.
Die Mannschaft discovered at a ceremony in Doha on Friday that they will face Spain, Japan and either Costa Rica or New Zealand in Qatar later this year.
Spain hammered Germany 6-0 the last time the two nations met in the Nations League in November 2020, while Japan reached the round of 16 in the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Flick will take charge of his country for the first time in a major tournament and although he knows Germany’s draw could have been kinder, the former Bayern Munich boss is confident his side can make a big impact.
He said: “It is an exciting and interesting group, the tasks are not easy. But we have big plans, we have to ensure that we prevail. You can’t get an easy group.
“We are happy, but we will have to be ready from the beginning. We want to get as far as possible, preferably to the final. We’re expecting a lot from this tournament.”
Flick added: “Japan is a team that is always present at the World Cup, with many Bundesliga players. Therefore, they are of high quality. We wanted to play a friendly against Japan, but that’s not going to happen now.
“All the teams [in the group] have evolved and have something special to offer.”
Germany finished bottom of their group in the last World Cup and were knocked out of Euro 2020 at the round of 16 stage by England last year.
Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is optimistic they can be a force this time around.
“It was inevitable that we were going to get a strong opponent from the pot,” he said.
Neuer added: “We haven’t covered ourselves in glory in recent tournaments and we want to make up for that.”
