Germany coach Flick against biennial WC

Germany coach Hansi Flick is firmly against staging the World Cup every two years which is being considered by the ruling body FIFA, reported dpa.

"I am absolutely against it," Flick told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily in an interview published on their website Sunday.

"A World Cup every two years would not only overload football it would also be too much for the whole of sport. Other sports also need their space and attention.

"And first and foremost you can not ask this of the players, we must put the players and their health at the centre."

A FIFA technical advisory group headed by former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has suggested holding the World Cup biennially after 2026 as FIFA aims to make the game more global.

Europe's ruling body UEFA and South America's CONMEBOL are firmly against the plans and have not ruled out boycotting the World Cup. There is also a threat from national associations to quit FIFA as a last resort.

A FIFA summit is scheduled for mid-December on the issue, after FIFA president Gianni Infantino had initially hoped for a vote on the issue before the end of the year.

The next World Cup is in 12 months time in Qatar and Flick said he was happy with the way his team has developed since he started in August. Germany are already qualified ahead of their qualifiers next week against Liechtenstein and in Armenia.

"As a coach you have a feeling how the team is training, how it develops in the short time," he said.

Flick said he felt in his role as assistant coach in 2014 ahead of the World Cup title in Brazil that "you had the feeling it was going in the right direction."

The coach said he can't guarantee the title in Qatar "but we can guarantee that we will do everything that we could win the title.

"It is clear that players like (Joshua) Kimmich, (Leon) Goretzka, (Thomas) Mueller or (Manuel) Neuer want to be world champions. I know how they tick," Flick said.