Flick and Kimmich slam poor first half hour in Germany's loss to Belgium
Germany were let down by a poor first half against Belgium, Hansi Flick and Joshua Kimmich said after the match.
Hansi Flick and Joshua Kimmich felt a poor start cost Germany a 2-3 friendly defeat to Belgium on Tuesday.
Germany were 0-2 down after just nine minutes and could have conceded another goal or two in the first half hour before stepping up their game.
"We were too passive in the first half hour, too respectful," Germany coach Hansi Flick admitted in a post-match interview.
"We didn’t put our opponents under pressure, and Belgium just outplayed us. We changed things after that, and got a bit of stability. The team played with a lot of passion.
"After half an hour we started doing things better and started putting pressure on the opposition. You could see that Belgium were making more mistakes then. For us it’s important that we keep working on timing when we press."
Joshua Kimmich, who wore the captain's armband in Manuel Neuer's absence, echoed his coach's words.
"The first 30 minutes were very poor, and we were still in the dressing room for the first 15. We made so many mistakes and just didn’t have desire," the Bayern midfielder lamented.
"We controlled the second half, though, which was how we imagined the game going."