Germany boss Hansi Flick wants the focus on his side redirected from politics to competitive matters as they approach their critical encounter with Spain on Sunday.
Germany sit third in Group E after one round of matches following their surprise 2-1 loss to Japan on Wednesday, so picking up points against Spain - coming off a 7-0 victory over Costa Rica - will be essential.
Some suggested the Germans were distracted by the debate surrounding their decision to stage a pre-match protest ahead of that midweek opener, a conversation Flick was keen to move past.
He said: "It's just the way it is. We need to accept a lot of other things about all this noise in the background of what happened before the tournament, and the story with the armband. The main focus for me has been the football."
Germany made headlines when they covered their mouths for the team photo before the Japan match in a protest to highlight they felt silenced by FIFA.
They were one of seven nations, including England and Wales, whose captains had intended to wear the anti-discrimination OneLove armband before the global governing body threatened sanctions and teams dropped their plans.
The events resulted in German supermarket chain Rewe deciding to waive its advertising rights with the German Football Association earlier this week.
Flick is looking for improvement from his side but remains fully committed to their overall approach, and admitted the Japan result led to some direct discussions he hopes will help bolster Germany's chances of avoiding an early tournament exit.
He said: "I think there were some situations where we made a lot of mistakes, where we got [things] wrong. Clearly, I tried to articulate it, and tried to explain that to the team, because it's important for them to understand and then to implement, and to make them sure that they can do what they've been told.
"We talked about the match. We're really convinced about our philosophy, how we want to play football.
And, of course, we're going to try to do better tomorrow."
Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku is ahead of schedule in his recovery from injury but is unlikely to feature against Morocco on Sunday, coach Roberto Martinez confirmed.
Lukaku has played two club games since August due to thigh and hamstring issues, and Martinez is taking a cautious approach towards a player who is key to Belgium's chances in Qatar.
"Romelu was only ever going to be available for the third game (against Croatia) and we will carry on with that, but he is ahead of where he should be," Martinez told reporters on Saturday.
"He has trained twice now with the group and the signs are very good. We have to see how he reacts today at training. I don’t expect him to be involved (against Morocco), he is still not 100% at this time."
Defender Toby Alderweireld and midfielder Kevin De Bruyne were seen in a heated argument around when to play long balls during Belgium’s lacklustre 1-0 opening victory over Canada. Martinez played down the row and insists there is no rift between the two.
"We should not try to create an issue where there is not one," he said. "You have two experienced players that have played over 70 games together for the national team. They are both winners and they really want to perform well."
Saudi Arabia has blocked Qatari broadcaster BeIN's popular streaming service TOD.tv since the start of the World Cup on20 November, according to a Reuters witness, in a sudden disruption after 10 months of smooth operations.
BeIN Sports, with its online platforms including TOD.tv, is the official broadcaster of the 2022 soccer World Cup to audiences in the Middle East and North Africa.
Accessing the TOD.tv page from within Saudi Arabia prompts a page that reads, "Sorry, the requested page is violating the regulations of the ministry of media." BeIN channels in general were still available via satellite dishes.
TOD.tv sent a message to its subscribers in Saudi Arabia on Nov. 24 saying it was experiencing an outage.
"Due to matters beyond our control, we are experiencing an outage in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is currently impacting TOD.tv, the official streaming partner of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022," the company said in a email obtained by Reuters.
The Saudi government communications office did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Reuters outside office hours. FIFA did not immediately respond.
BeIN declined to comment.
