Oliver Bierhoff sees the responsibility for perfect preparation for the World Cup more with the players than ever before.

Due to the unusual winter date (November 20 to December 18), "the usual preparation is no longer necessary," said the DFB managing director on Tuesday at the new campus in Frankfurt/Main.

It is therefore necessary for the team to always have the World Cup on their mind: "It is important for us that they are fully focused.

It's a huge opportunity," he said at the start of the last course before the finals in Qatar.

The burden for the national players falls "very concentrated" in November, but Bierhoff does not see it any higher than usual.

Bierhoff is hoping for test runs against strong opponents from the Nations League games against Hungary on Friday (8.45 p.m./ in the FAZ live ticker for the World Cup and on ZDF) in Leipzig and three days later in London against England (8.45 p.m. / RTL). .

"We want to finish the Nations League successfully," he said.

The goal is the World Cup final on December 18th: "If the German national team goes to a tournament, they must also have the faith and the will to win it." Factors for hope for him are "mentality, quality and top players".

Consistency and dominance can still be improved.

The strong Bayern axis has problems in the league, but Bierhoff does not find them “dramatic.

I don't think we need to build them."

In any case, national coach Hansi Flick has “very clear ideas, he also knows from Bayern how he can lead a team to success”.

Kimmich is brutally angry

Joshua Kimmich, meanwhile, is very annoyed by the mood of crisis in the German record champions Bayern Munich.

"You get really angry," said the midfielder in the national team's camp.

Nevertheless, full concentration on the national team is now the order of the day.

"We want to perform here as a team," he emphasized.

Due to Bayern's weakness, the Bundesliga will become "a little more interesting.

But the season is still long."

Especially from his former teammate Niklas Süle (now Borussia Dortmund) he received one or the other saying because of the Bayern crisis: "You hear a little something from Niki, he's coming out now," said Kimmich.

Both for Bayern and for the national team: "In the end it's about the results.

They give self-confidence, security and a certain self-image.”