Kimmich is surprised by Dutch criticism of German goal

Joshua Kimmich, captain of Die Mannschaft, remains baffled as to why the Dutch press criticises Germany's opening goal so harshly, while he continued to play despite an injury to teammate Brian Brobbey. The criticism came, among others, from Virgil van Dijk and Denzel Dumfries, who accused the Germans of misconduct.

Dutch criticism and German response

Kimmich, who plays for Bayern Munich, explained that he passed the ball to Philipp Treu, who then delivered a cross that led to the opening goal. He emphasized that the referee did not stop the game, despite Brobbey lying on the ground with a head injury. “The referee stops the game, especially when a player has a head injury. I did not hear a whistle, so everything proceeded completely correctly,” Kimmich said.

Virgil van Dijk and Denzel Dumfries expressed their displeasure about the incident. The Dutch right‑back Rafael van der Vaart called Germany’s behaviour “shame” and said: “I do not consider that a thoughtful response.”

Jürgen Klopp, head coach of Germany, refuted the Dutch criticism. “The rule is that the referee stops the game, not the players. The goal is completely legitimate,” he declared.

Kimmich regarded the final score of 1‑1 as a fair result. He added that the second half showed that Germany had earned a point, despite the late equaliser.