Germany forward, Thomas Muller, has said their exit from the 2022 World Cup is “an absolute catastrophe”.
The four-time world champions suffered a second successive World Cup group stage elimination despite beating Costa Rica 4-2.
Japan’s 2-1 victory against Spain in Doha ended Germany’s hopes of qualifying from Group E.
A 2-1 defeat against Japan in their opening game at Qatar 2022 ultimately proved costly for Germany, who are due to host Euro 2024 in just over 18 months.
And with that tournament looming large, Flick, who did not address his own future as coach, said that big changes will be made to ensure Germany are competitive at Euro 2024.
“In light of the Euros, it is difficult to talk about that right now, but we need to assess our World Cup, head into a different direction,” Flick said. “This is the next step we will take, and we will do it very soon.
“We can get up quickly and recover. We will see what the future looks like and how we can implement our ideas. I am a very critical person and we will assess everything.”
One part of Germany’s “different direction” is likely to see World Cup winners such as Muller, Manuel Neuer and Mario Gotze phased out of the international team.
Muller, whose World Cup debut came in South Africa in 2010, admitted the early exit from this tournament was tough to take.
“It’s an absolute catastrophe,” Muller said. “It is unbelievably bitter for us because our result would have been enough [if Spain hadn’t lost to Japan]. It’s a feeling of powerlessness.
“If that was my last game for Germany, it has been a tremendous pleasure, thank you very much.”
