In their first outing on German soil, the FC Bayern World Squad suffered defeat despite putting in a good performance. On Saturday, Klaus Augenthaler and Christopher Loch's team lost 3-0 (1-0) away to the VfL Wolfsburg U19s. The Bayern international selection fell behind early on to a Matthew Meier strike in the 4th minute before managing to open up the game but failing to convert a number of chances. After Davis Boateng doubled the lead (51'), the home side took control of the game and were able to add a third through Joao Pinto (82') in the final phase of the match.
Both teams lined up together before the match.
But for the coaching team, the result was secondary. The young talents showed "against one of the best U19 teams in Germany" that they "can compete at this level", explained coach Augenthaler: "The boys sold themselves dearly today. You also learn from defeats like the one today." The team of the 1990 World Cup winner and Christopher Loch will soon have the opportunity to prove just that: On Wednesday (13 July), they have a friendly against the SpVgg Unterhaching U19s, before the big match against the German record champions' U19 side as part of the Allianz FC Bayern Team Presentation in the Allianz Arena on Saturday (16 July).
Click here to get your tickets for the Allianz FC Bayern Team Presentation.
How the game went
As in the friendlies in Rio, the FC Bayern World Squad took too long to get into their rhythm in the early stages and were punished for it. The early goal conceded by Meier (4') was the result of a chain of individual mistakes. The Wolfsburg player's shot from a central position was deflected and landed in the right corner. After that, however, the visitors recovered and created several good chances. Treasure Odunze headed just wide from Diego Silva de Abreu's cross, Siam Yapp missed the target with a long-range effort from 25 metres and Manuel Peña was off-target with another header. However, the Bayern talents were not rewarded and went into the half-time break a goal behind.
Muslim Umar in a sprint against his Wolfsburg opponent.
The second half began as unfortunately as the first. An attempted cross by Boateng turned into a shot on goal and ended up hitting the far post, unstoppable for half-time substitute Marawan Salah. The World Squad found this setback difficult to swallow at first, and in combination with many changes, there was no real flow to the game and the team lacked a real drive towards goal. The Wolfsburg side took advantage of this and increased the lead to 3-0 eight minutes from time through Joao Pinto (82') after a chip in behind the Munich back line.
What the coaches said
Klaus Augenthaler: "As a footballer you don't like to lose - and this was an unnecessary defeat. But in the end, the result stands, whether deserved or undeserved. For us, however, the result is secondary today. What is more important for us is how the boys performed and whether they implemented what we gave them in the few days' training we had. That's more important to me than the result. All in all, it was a great chance for the boys to play against one of the best U19 teams in Germany. We saw that we can compete at this level. The boys did well today. I'd like to see the team win the next game. But you also learn from defeats like today's."
The FC Bayern World Squad coaching staff led by Christopher Loch (left) and Klaus Augenthaler (centre).
Christopher Loch: "The game against Wolfsburg was a very good comparison for the boys, because they now know where they stand compared to the top youth teams in Germany. In the end, that's exactly where they want to be. Therefore, comparisons like this are imperative for the boys. Unfortunately, the result was 3-0 for our opponents. However, the game could have ended differently and there could have been much more in it for us, considering the number of chances we had in the first half. However, the game has now shown the boys that at this high level, small mistakes and carelessness get exploited. This showed them once again where they need to improve. We'll discuss this with them and incorporate it into the next training sessions and of course take it into the next game against Unterhaching. You learn from mistakes - that's the most important thing."
Exciting additional activities
FC Bayern Word Squad captain Daniel Francis enjoys the VW Driving Experience
The boys rounded off the day with a visit to the Autostadt in Wolfsburg and a chance to take part in the 'Volkswagen Driving Experience'. Here, the young talents were able to test the various VW models together with the VfL Wolfsburg players.
FC Bayern World Squad documentary in the autumn
Fans will once again be able to relive the youth players' entire journey from training to the selection process to playing against FC Bayern's young talents as an exclusive eight-part series. The documentary will be broadcast in the autumn on our YouTube channel as well as on the FC Bayern home page and selected international media.
Read here about the FC Bayern World Squad's journey so far:
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