DOHA: Just one match into the Qatar World Cup, Germany face what amounts to a must-win clash against Spain on Sunday, a team they have not beaten in a competitive fixture since 1988.
Before Germany were stunned 2-1 by Japan in their opening match, the team faced heavy criticism for backtracking on a promise to wear a rainbow “OneLove” armband in support of diversity and human rights.
Their response was powerful — a team photo before the Japan match in which all 11 players covered their mouths, suggesting they had been silenced by FIFA, who had threatened on-field sanctions for anyone wearing the armband.
But after Japan scored two late goals to beat Hansi Flick’s team, the Germans were hammered by some observers for losing focus on the football when they should be concentrating on avoiding a second successive group stage exit in a World Cup.
On Friday, Chelsea striker Kai Havertz said the players were holding onto their beliefs but knew the challenge ahead, especially against a Spain team that steamrollered Costa Rica 7-0 in their opening game.
“Everyone knows our point of view and how we think,” Havertz said in a pre-match press conference.
“Really, our focus is 100 percent on football, nothing else. We just said what we think, what our point of view is, everyone knows that, and now it is about playing football.”
With supermarket chain Rewe pulling their sponsorship and with TV ratings for the Japan game the lowest in Germany for a World Cup in more than 30 years, Havertz recognized that the challenges were not just on the field, saying: “I know not everyone is behind us.”
Havertz revealed the squad and Flick held a wide-ranging team meeting on Thursday, admitting “it was time to tell ourselves the truth.”
Havertz said “everyone left the meeting knowing what’s going on.”
Sitting alongside Havertz, midfielder Julian Brandt said “we had a very good exchange. All of us left the conversation feeling like we had the determination to win the game.”
The importance of the Spain match at the Al Bayt Stadium cannot be underestimated — national squad manager and 1996 Euros winner Oliver Bierhoff has asked what another early exit would mean for the future of football in Germany.
Speaking with Germany TV network ARD on Friday, Bierhoff said losing “our first final” in Qatar would have widespread ramifications for the sport.
“What does it mean for German football? For the further development?” Bierhoff asked.
“And if you go a little deeper: (what does it mean) for the investment we have to make to stay competitive (and) to have new players in eight or ten years?“
Far from being haunted by the ghosts of their early exit in Russia however, Havertz said the match could represent “a turnaround” for the under-fire side, saying “we all dreamed of playing these games.”
“Now we are in a bad moment, but I think that can switch around quite fast — if we win the game on Sunday.”
Captain Manuel Neuer on Friday said Sunday’s match was “a huge chance,” emphasising the side could learn from Russia “we blew it once and now we know how not to do it.”
Brandt agreed.
“Spain come to the stadium on Sunday on the back of a 7-0 victory but it is a chance, on Sunday, a chance to change the atmosphere.”
Germany face Spain with spectre of early World Cup exit looming
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Germany face Spain with spectre of early World Cup exit looming
- Germans were hammered by some observers for losing focus on the football when they should be concentrating on avoiding a second successive group stage exit in a World Cup
- “Really, our focus is 100 percent on football, nothing else,” Havertz said in a pre-match press conference
Elvira holds his nerve to win 2026 Dubai Invitational
- The Spaniard finished top after five players had shared the lead on the final day at Dubai Creek Resort
DUBAI: A nerveless display during a roller-coaster final round saw Nacho Elvira come out on top to claim his third DP World Tour title at the 2026 Dubai Invitational.
No fewer than five players shared the lead on a chaotic Sunday at Dubai Creek Resort, where overnight leader Elvira cruised into a three-shot lead following a third birdie of the day at the seventh.
He left the door ajar when finishing his front nine with successive bogeys as Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, Daniel Hillier and Marcus Armitage joined the Spaniard at the summit at nine under down the final stretch.
Lowry made his move with a birdie at the 15th, only to double bogey the last and spectacularly fall out of contention.
Hillier was the clubhouse leader at nine under, but Elvira carded his first birdie of the back nine at the 17th to earn a one-shot lead down the last and calmly rolled a final par for a brilliant victory.
“It means the world,” the 38-year-old said. “If you told me on Tuesday that I’d be winning this tournament I’d have never believed you.
“It’s a dream come true, especially having the family here. I’ve always dreamed to have my kids walking up to me with a win and anything that happens after this, nothing compares to this.
“I knew at some point it was going to be difficult, especially with the great players playing in front of me. I somehow managed to make a par on 10, managed somehow to make a par on 11 and I guess I calmed down a little after this and stayed patient.
“To be honest with you, I wasn’t nervous until the very last putt — the one-footer I had for the win. I knew what I needed to do, I knew I needed to be patient. I think there are so many positives from this week and I couldn’t be happier.”
Elvira opened with a birdie to maintain his two-shot overnight lead at nine under, but it was reduced to nothing when Lowry birdied three of his first four holes.
The Spaniard became the first man to reach double figures with a birdie at the fourth and when he birdied the seventh, he led by three at 11 under.
Lowry had bogeyed the latter hole to slip back to eight under alongside Armitage, who had birdied the first and seventh to reach that mark, before Elvira twitched at the top.
Bogeys at the eighth and ninth saw him drop to nine under and he was joined by Armitage after the Englishman’s birdie at the tenth.
McIlroy seemed out of contention after two dropped shots and gain during his opening seven holes, but he surged into co-leadership after five straight birdies from the ninth.
Hillier, who had eagled the 13th, joined the party at nine under after his fourth birdie of the day at the 15th.
Lowry made it a five-way tie for the lead with a birdie at the 13th before Armitage dropped back one with a bogey at the 14th.
The Irishman jumped ahead on his own with a 27-foot birdie putt at the 15th before Hillier set the clubhouse target of nine under following a flawless 65.
The world No. 26 was inches from increasing his lead to two shots at his 16th, while McIlroy almost holed out from a greenside bunker to birdie the last, but two-putted to fall back to eight under.
Elvira still had the final two holes to play and piled the pressure on Lowry with birdie at the penultimate hole to rejoin the lead at ten under.
Just as the Spaniard drained his seven-foot birdie putt, Lowry’s bunker shot flew the final green and into the water to card a stunning double bogey. That meant Elvira only needed a par on the 72nd hole for victory and he showed nerves of steel to do just that from one foot.
Elvira was handed the trophy by tournament host Abdullah Al Naboodah, chairman of Al-Naboodah Investments and European Tour Group non-executive board member.
“Congratulations to Nacho Elvira on an outstanding performance and well-earned victory,” he said.
“The caliber of golf from both our professionals and amateurs has been remarkable. The pro-am format is what makes the Dubai Invitational special, and it remains an honor to host the world’s best here. Thank you to everyone who took part and to our global partners DP World and Rolex, along with our tournament partners Discovery Land Company, Dubai Basketball, Gulfstream and Silverlake.
“We also extend our thanks to the Wasl and World of Hyatt for providing the unparalleled backdrop of the Dubai Creek Golf Club and special thanks to the Dubai Sports Council and the Emirates Golf Federation for their continued support for the tournament and golf in the region. We look forward to welcoming everyone back in 2028."
Frenchman Julien Guerrier bounced back from a double bogey at the second with seven birdies to sit in a share of third at eight under alongside Spain’s David Puig, McIlroy and Lowry.
Armitage double-bogeyed the last to join Matt Wallace and Dane Thorbjørn Olesen at six under, while France’s Antoine Rozner and South African duo Thriston Lawrence and Dylan Frittelli were one shot further back to wrap up the top 10.
