German soccer fans are eagerly anticipating the crucial match on Saturday evening against Ivory Coast. National defender Jonathan Tah (30) has now announced that he wants to repeat the widely noticed joint prayer circle that was seen after the opening match against Curaçao. "We will continue this because in the end it is a beautiful sign", said the defender on MagentaTV in a conversation with Tokio Hotel member Tom Kaulitz (36).
For Jonathan Tah it's about "compassion, peace and gratitude"
Tah had formed a circle on the field and prayed together with national team colleague Felix Nmecha (25) as well as several players from the opposing team after the 7-1 opening victory against Curaçao on Sunday. For him, it's about much more than the sport, said the defensive leader of FC Bayern Munich in the current interview. "It's about love, it's about compassion, it's about peace, gratitude. Those are the values we want to convey to the outside world", said Tah verbatim.
He also revealed that he had prayed with Nmecha after the 2-1 in the last test against the USA - also here together with some players from the opposing team. "To be honest: Felix approached me and asked if I was interested", Tah described how it came about. Nmecha, who is considered deeply religious, had then known a player from the Curaçao squad in the first World Cup match of the DFB team. Therefore, they decided to repeat the ritual after the opening match of the World Cup as well.
Backing from Rüdiger
Tah and Nmecha also received support from teammate Antonio Rüdiger. "It's something personal. He did it, and I don't see anything wrong with it", Rüdiger said at a press conference on Wednesday evening German time about the prayer circle initiated by Nmecha. And further: "We live in a country, we talk about freedom of speech, freedom of religion. So I don't see a problem with it."
