Julian Nagelsmann[1] has taken aim at many of his Germany international stars for not showing enough ‘desire’ in their shock defeat to Slovakia on Thursday night, and has threatened to drop them.
Germany were hoping to get off to the perfect start in World Cup qualifying as they took to Bratislava in midweek.
They had been tipped to finish top of their group, which also includes Northern Ireland and Luxembourg, and were backed to win their first match with the likes of Florian Wirtz[2], Joshua Kimmich, and Nick Woltemade in their line-up.
However, despite fielding an almost full-strength side, the Germans failed to find the back of the net in what was a dismal performance, with David Hancko and David Strelec scoring for the hosts in a 2-0 win.
It continues a worrying trend for Wirtz, who has had a slow start to life at new club Liverpool[3] after arriving on Merseyside for £116million, as he and many others struggled to cause Slovakia any problems whatsoever.
It was Germany’s first-ever away defeat in a World Cup qualification campaign, and only their second in general, and Nagelsmann has now questioned some of his star players’ work ethic.
Julian Nagelsmann has questioned the ‘desire’ of his Germany team after defeat to Slovakia
Liverpool’s £116m-man Florian Wirtz was one of many stars to struggle against Slovakia in their Wolrd Cup qualifier on Thursday night
Speaking in the post-match press conference, he said: ‘We picked the best players in Germany, but maybe we have to put less importance on quality and more on players who will give it all out there. We did not show any emotionality in our game today.
‘In terms of emotions, the opponents were miles ahead of us. We want to go to the World Cup, but today we were miles away from that.
‘The first five minutes of the second half were a bit brighter, but the rest was pretty grim.
‘I trust my team, but they have to understand that simply being a better player than the opponent is not enough if you don’t show willingness and desire.
‘You won’t get results with the handbrake on.’
Germany legend Bastian Schweinsteiger, who played 121 times for his country – the sixth-most ever – was also left bereft at just how poor the four-time world champions were.
‘I’m sorry. But not for a single minute of the game did I believe we would win,’ Schweinsteiger said. ‘Nothing came of it. This is a tough setback.
‘We were really bad. We didn’t play good passes, we didn’t pose any threat. Our body language after the 0-1 was gone immediately. If you want to win anything, you have to show resilience.’
Newcastle’s new striker Nick Woltemade also failed to leave a lasting impression in Bratislava
He added: ‘I have to think, when was the last time I saw German fans booing and waving their own players away? That hurt my heart so, so much.
‘You should be happy if you qualify for the World Cup – if we play like we did today.’
Germany now sit at the bottom of their qualifying group and are set to face Northern Ireland – who beat Luxembourg 3-1 on Thursday – in their next game on Sunday. They already face a battle to qualify automatically for the 2026 World Cup.
References
- ^ Julian Nagelsmann (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Florian Wirtz (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Liverpool (www.dailymail.co.uk)