JULIAN NAGELSMANN has threatened to drop some of his underperforming stars after Germany’s historic defeat to Slovakia on Thursday evening.
The Germans succumbed to a 2-0 away loss to Slovakia, who sit some 43 places below them in the Fifa World Rankings.
Julian Nagelsmann has threatened to drop his underperforming Germany starsGetty
Shutterstock EditorialGermany lost 2-0 to Slovakia in a World Cup qualifier on Thursday[/caption]
Nagelsmann’s side fell a goal behind in the first half after Liverpool newcomer Florian Wirtz was nudged off the ball with ease, sparking a Slovakia counter attack that was finished off by David Hancko.
The hosts doubled their lead through David Strelec in the 55th minute when the Middlesbrough striker bent a wonderful effort into the top corner to get the better of goalkeeper Oliver Baumann.
The defeat leaves Germany rock bottom of their World Cup qualification group, which also contains Luxembourg and Northern Ireland.
It is the first time the nation has ever lost an away World Cup qualifier.
And only the second time they have lost any qualifier – home or away – by more than one goal since their 5-1 defeat to England in 2002, courtesy of a Michael Owen hat-trick.
Nagelsmann didn’t shy away from the reality of those shocking stats and seemingly threatened to take action by dropping the players responsible.
He said in his post-match press conference: “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.
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“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 have now lost their last three games in all competitions.
Nagelsmann didn’t single out any specific players during his passionate assessment of his team, but there was a number of big-name stars involved in the match.
Liverpool’s Wirtz, Bayern Munich’s Serge Gnabry and Joshua Kimmich, Real Madrid’s Antonio Rudiger and new Newcastle frontman Nick Woltemade all started the match.
Shutterstock EditorialGerman players looked frustrated after their embarrassing defeat[/caption]
