Chelsea and Germany star Kai Havertz lashed out during a World Cup press conference and claimed that questions over his position are ‘really getting on his nerves’.
The former Bayer Leverkusen forward was handed a spot in Hansi Flick’ s squad for the tournament in Qatar and was selected to start in their opening game against Japan. Havertz endured a hugely frustrating game having never quite managed to make enough of an impression as the four-time champions slumped to a shock 2-1 defeat.
Havertz’s performance against Japan was somewhat symptomatic of his side’s showing. Selected to lead the line by Flick, he struggled to really make make an impact before being replaced by natural forward Niclas Fullkrug.
Having failed to find the back of the net against Japan, it means that the 23-year-old has only scored two goals in his last eight appearances for his nation - both of those strikes coming in the 3-3 draw against England in the Nations League back in September. He still has a relatively impressive record for Germany though with ten goals in 32 caps since his debut back in 2018.
Whilst some have questioned whether Havertz is the right choice to spearhead the Germany attack, he has hit back at those claims and suggested that his versatility is one of his major strengths.
Speaking in a press conference, the Chelsea man said: "The position issue is really getting on my nerves now. Everyone knows that I can play on the right, on the left, as a No. 9 and as a No. 10. Of course the positions are different, but I can play anything up front.
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"I really like the No. 9 position, but I also know that as a striker you have to score goals. If I play there again on Sunday, I'll give my best once more."
Germany go into their second group game against Spain under huge pressure. They practically need to win to retain hope of progressing to the knockout rounds.
Should they fail to do that then they could potentially suffer the ignominy of a second consecutive group stage exit following their miserable display in Russia.
Havertz has already suggested that he is aware of the backlash that could potentially await him and his teammates but ensures they will be doing everything they can to avoid exiting the tournament.
He continued: "I can understand that there is negativity coming from a lot of fans. We're under a lot of fire. But I'm not worried.
“I don't care what happened in the past. It's a big game on Sunday. There's no point in having negative thoughts now. The focus is on the future for us."
