Optimism has long been his trademark. Throughout her coaching career, football teacher Hansi Flick has discovered that she reaches out to other people better when the glass is half full and not always half empty.

An initially tough, then spectacular test against England, it was a step forward. His promise after his 3-3 win at Wembley: “If we meet, we will go to the World Cup with positive emotions.”

Of course they were disappointed by a fun 2-0 win but: “We did a lot of things well.” Although players like Thilo Kehrer looked up at the night sky with a luminous steel belt that looked like dozens of question marks on his forehead after the final whistle, Flick consciously prayed for health.

No one doubts the motivation of the DFB selection, but the results raise a certain amount of skepticism as the team has won only once in their six Nations League matches against England, Italy and Hungary.

The start of the 2022 World Cup against Japan (23 November) before the other group games against Spain and Costa Rica will be a benchmark with many unknowns. The fluctuations in performance in Leipzig (against Hungary) and now in London were enormous, the team struggling in vain for form and stability. The “20 minutes of really good football” Flick praised at Wembley can’t hide it.

The slackness of young Jamal Musiala, who was heavily praised by the national coach, the only real winner of the last two matches, was missed by most of the players.

Flick’s dilemma: He would have a lot of work to do before the finals in Qatar (November 20 to December 18), but like his colleagues from the best countries in Europe, the national coach can’t find time to work with his players. anyone.

The diary is full: ahead of most of the heroes are 13 games in the European Cup, Bundesliga and DFB Cup in Oman on 14 November. The team acclimatizes there for four days and will play a final test against the home national team on November 16.

Flick is no longer just an observer, no longer a designer. All he can do is watch as many matches as possible (“I owe the players”), share different content through his own app (“Players Lounge”), and have personal conversations.

Already, he advised, “everyone is still working on themselves during this time for better fitness, security, faith, transition. We have to get better there. It’s necessary.”

After all, the final third was not a very smart move in the first half because everything was so vague, but at the same time laid out cautiously. It’s also surprising how a 2-0 win can be gambled in eleven minutes, with goals from Ilkay Gundogan (52nd penalty) and Kai Havertz (67th).

The British attack, revived with fresh energy by Luke Shaw (72′), Jason Mount (75′) and Harry Kane (83’/penalty kick), made it clear that a top defender like Antonio Rüdiger should not be missing. , because Nico Schlotterbeck once again clumsily went into debt with a penalty kick.

English fans were already in a celebratory mood before Havertz shot 3:3 (87th) using the gift of an English goalkeeper who has traditionally blundered in the person of Nick Pope. Flick admitted: “So we can better deal with a defeat. What we need is not to give up.” And probably more than just confidence-injecting words.