By Oliver Trust

BERLIN, June 12 (Xinhua) -- On their way to the 2024 UEFA EURO the German national team keeps traveling on a bumpy road.

One year ahead of the major hosted by Germany, coach Hansi Flick's side seems burdened by a concerning defense problem after having spoiled a friendly against Ukraine in the 1000th international in the books of the German association.

After conceding three goals against Belgium in the previous encounter, the 2014 FIFA World Champion is revealing ongoing weaknesses regarding its back row.

Happy times when Flick's predecessor Joachim Loew won the Brazil World Cup appointing four centrals for the defense line seem a thing of the past.

Twelve months before the 2024 Euro's kick-off, the 3-3 draw against Ukraine comes near a disappointing setback for Flick trying to increase the team's variability by relying on a back chain of three.

Neither Real' Antonio Ruediger, Dortmund's Nico Schlotterbeck nor Freiburg's Matthias Ginter met expectations in the four-time World Champions squad while Leipzig defender Lukas Klostermann replaced Schlotterbeck in the second half but couldn't achieve striking improvement.

Witnessing his team's difficulties, the former Bayern coach skipped the testing after only 60 minutes and returned to a defense row of four in a 4-3-3 system.

The German team failed in trying to regain fans' appreciation after disappointing tournaments such as the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup in Russia and Qatar.

"The annoying mistakes accompany us for a while now and if we can't solve the problem we won't perform in a satisfying way at the Euro," German keeper Kevin Trapp said.

Only four wins in the previous 13 games under Flick might tell the challenging story of the treble European champions. Only twice have the Germans kept a clean goal in the recent 14 games.

In the Bremen arena, the German team got booed off the pitch by the frustrated crowd of 36,000 spectators.

"We seem to have to go a long way. The disappointing result gives evidence of the team's wavering mental constitution," coach Flick stated and announced to continue testing admitting "the players don't act with the required confidence."

As in March Flick again excluded Dortmund's Niklas Sule from his squad triggering a controversial debate about the former Bayern defender's fitness level.

The German coach demanded a significant performance improvement from Sule doubting the defender's determination to get to the highest level.

"It's up to Niklas to show us he is willing to do more," the German association's sporting director Rudi Voeller said while Flick is increasing the pressure on his squad members.

Germany is facing its next test in Warsaw against Poland on Friday before crossing swords with Colombia while Flick might overthink his testing procedures. Enditem

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