On Friday, Amazon released the next instalment of their All or Nothing series and this time they followed the German national team in Qatar.
This instalment provides a great insight into how a team tries to manage the pressure of competing in a World Cup. However, as the previous World Cup showed the pressure teams faced was not solely focused on football.
In the first two episodes, the player’s notable disapproval of playing in Qatar and the plan surrounding the ‘One Love’ armband was heavily featured. The documentary also covers how the team dealt with the backlash when they were told that they could not wear the ‘One Love’ armband and how they would react.
The series was also able to bring to light the human side of the players when competing in such a high-stakes tournament as the World Cup. Consistently throughout the documentary, you see the pressure and stress getting to Hansi Flick and this results in a breakdown in communication and disagreements between the team. One stand-out moment is where Flick asks for feedback after Germany’s game against Japan before then disagreeing with the feedback the players gave. The documentary also shows how intense of a personality Joshua Kimmich has, several times showing him in an argument with one of his teammates.
The highlights of the documentary, without giving away any spoilers (not that there are many), are Thomas Müller (as always) and the workings of a flock of Geese.
Overall, the mini-documentary series is a good watch as it can help explain some of the reasons why the German national team is currently in a rut and struggling while also helping to show how a national team operates during a World Cup.
GGFN | Jack Meenan
