Bierhoff causes concern
"What Oliver wanted to expresses is the fact that a European team has never won [the World Cup] on the continent of South America. That is fact," said German Football Association (DFB) President Wolfgang Niersbach in a statement Monday. "But the nice thing about football is that things that seem impossible can become possible."
On Sunday Bierhoff had said that for a European team to win a World Cup title in Brazil was "a thing of impossibility." Bierhoff defended his statement Monday evening.
"We are all highly motivated, but I am also a realist," he said. "The [World Cup] will be a tough one, and it was important to me to show and point out that the [World Cup] won't be automatic."
Germany play Kazakhstan at 19:45 UTC Tuesday evening in Nuremberg. It is the team's final World Cup qualifier until September. Follow us on Twitter @dw_sports for live commentary of the match.
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