Hummels asks Germany fans to lay off boos and back their team

‘COME ON! Quickly… let’s do this!’ Mats Hummels is in a hurry to leave the BayArena but he will not duck questions.

Friday evening in Leverkusen had not proved to be the happy send-off to Russia that Germany had been expecting. Although they beat Saudi Arabia 2-1, their performance was underwhelming and the atmosphere inside the stadium was strained for much of the second half.

The tetchiness, in part, was down to the laboured way the 2014

Weltmeisters went about their business. They could easily have been left red-faced and had it not been for a dramatic, goal-line tackle by Hummels in injury time, Saudi Arabia would have drawn.

But there was also anger when Ilkay Gundogan was brought on as a substitute. The Manchester City midfielder and Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil, both of Turkish heritage, had a meeting and were photographed with Turkey president Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a time when political tensions are high.

Ozil looked furious when he emerged from the dressing room area, refusing to speak. Gundogan, meanwhile, politely declined all invitations to stop and talk. It was left to men such as Hummels and Manuel Neuer to confront the subject.

‘I was not happy with the booing and I hope that it is not going to continue for much longer,’ Hummels (right) told the German media. ‘When they started, they stopped supporting the other players. It seemed like everyone waited for Ilkay to have the ball to boo him.’ So this was the backdrop to our conversation.

It was clear that Hummels’ mind was racing and plenty of other players would have scuttled through the nearest door when asked to do one more interview.

But Bayern Munich’s Hummels is an engaging character, the type of person who only needs a few moments to make a point. This success may have been their first of 2018 but nobody was smiling.

‘We made it more difficult than it needed to be,’ said Hummels. ‘We had a good start in the game, but started to play with too many mistakes.

‘We gave the ball away too many times in situations we didn’t have to. We need to be more dominant.

‘It was similar to the last two games of the season for Bayern, against Stuttgart (lost 4-1 at home) and Eintracht Frankfurt (lost 3-1 in the DFB Pokal final) where lost balls cost us two games.’

But this is Germany, whose record at the World Cup since 2002 reads: finalists, semi-finals, semi-finals, winners. They won the Confederations Cup 12 months ago, too, and many regard them as Europe’s outstanding candidates in Russia. The phrase Turniermannschaft — tournament team — was coined for them.

‘It is possible we will be okay but it is not something that comes by doing nothing,’ said Hummels. ‘We have done it often in the last years, of course, but we cannot wait for it. We have got to make it

happen. Yes, we are one of the teams that can win it. But every team can win it. You remember Greece at Euro 2004? England are improving. They are a good side and have a really good chance. It’s not just because I am talking to you. If someone asks me in private, I tell them the same. France, Brazil, Spain, England, Argentina — these are the top teams.’

Joachim Low must have a top team if he can be without someone of Leroy Sane’s gifts but the shock that has been felt in England about his omission is not replicated in Germany. Furthermore, there is no sense from Hummels that the PFA Young Player of the Year has been treated harshly.

‘We know he is a very good player and he had a great season,’ said Hummels, one of the veterans of the 2014 campaign in Brazil.

‘Circumstances are not easy for young players — in the games he played there were a great number of changes. And for the national team, he didn’t play as good as he did for Manchester City until now. He will improve, both with the national team and with City.’

Sane is for the future but the present is Russia and the young winger cannot help. This is the moment for Hummels and company to step forward when they open up against Mexico in the Luznihki Stadium next Sunday. Can they make it back to the venue for the final on July 15?

‘This was the last test before Russia. If we want to win something at the World Cup we have got to improve. A lot,’ said Hummels before disappearing into a waiting elevator.