Former Germany defender Holger Badstuber has hit out at Hansie Flick at right-back Nicklaus Suh in his latest Eurosport Germany column in Germany’s 2-1 loss to Japan.
Sule, who traditionally plays as a center-back, was Germany’s leading man at fault for Japan’s winning goal by Takuma Asano in the 83rd minute.
The Borussia Dortmund defender headed the Bochum winger past Manuel Neuer to give Japan a surprise win over the 2014 champions.
Badstuber, who won 31 caps for Germany between 2010 and 2015, has criticized Flick’s decision to play Sule at right-back.
“Having Niklas Sule as a right-back was a mistake,” he told Eurosport.
“He can play that, but he’s a central defender. He also wants to play inside, you can see that. He feels most comfortable in the center of defense, where he works best.
“At the World Cup, players have to play where they regularly play at a high level for their club.
“When the decisive goal was conceded, Sule reversed the offside and thus started a series of errors: Asano had a two-meter lead on Nico Sloterbeck, who in the end relied too much on Manuel Neuer when the angle of the goal became increasingly impossible.
“Such personal mistakes are fatal at this level. Here they led to a deserved defeat.”
Badstuber was also critical of Germany’s defensive performance in general and did not feel there was enough cohesion in the backline.
The former Bayern Munich and Stuttgart defender added: “Looking at the defensive performance against Japan, I’m skeptical anyway. The defense, the whole defensive behavior, the aggression, everything was very poor. The defensive shape was not practiced well. The players didn’t behave smart enough, there was unity. And communication is lacking.
“I don’t feel unity on the pitch. You can only win the World Cup with a strong defense.
“The big holes at the back create spaces for every opponent. The bigger the quality, the better they exploit. Japan exploited well and punished. Especially in the second half, when Japan changed the system and became bolder, obvious deficiencies began to appear.
“Japan has fun with Bundesliga players and is at an attractive level overall. Then they went all out, put more pressure on the ball and against the ball, and thus created a goal threat.
Germany allowed that to happen. That’s negligence – and a pity.”
Despite the shock defeat, Badstuber believes Germany has enough quality in the squad to progress to the group stage with a tough game against Spain next Sunday.
He said: “The German national team must pick itself up soon. Fight against Spain with passion. The football class is still there, the important thing now is the foundation of football, the basic qualities.
“Everyone has to be there for each other, don’t be afraid to go that extra meter, even make strategic fouls to disrupt the flow of the Spanish game. Another possibility is to play on the counter-attack. There is enough speed attack.
“Whether it’s played with a three-man or four-man backline, it doesn’t matter. It’s not about the system.
“Hansi Flick is a very experienced coach. I believe he will effect some changes.”