Former German captain Bastian Schweinsteiger said the quadruples winners of the World Cup had “lost their DNA” after the 2-0 defeat in Slovakia last night.
Germany’s hopes of a smooth progression to the final next summer in the United States, Canada and Mexico have reached an early bump with goals from David Hancko and David Strelec, putting three deserved three points at home.
Schweinsteiger, who was in Bratislava and looked at the low display of Germany, told Ard: “We lost our DNA. We used to play quite often, but in the end, we generally won. It was the German football DNA, for which we were admired and fear.
“I have to think about when I saw the last time I saw the German fans whistling their own players and waving them? It hurt me a lot.”
Premier League Newboys Wirtz and Woltemade among those who have trouble
The men of Julian Nagelsmann dominated possession, but did not do little despite the fact that Florian Wirtz of Liverpool and the Newcastle striker Nick Woltemade – two players who cost 180 million pounds sterling combined in the recently closed transfer window.
“I’m sorry, but no minute of the match, I thought we would win,” added the former midfielder of Bayern Munich and Manchester United Schweinsteiger.
“We were really bad. We did not play good passes, we have not created danger. [positive] Body language after the disappearance of the first objective. If you want to win something, you have to show resilience.
“The players must recognize themselves that it was not good. With Slovakia, I felt much more passion. The national coach can speak all night – the players must understand it themselves.”
Where was passion? Nagelsmann questions the attitude of the players
The result means that there is already additional pressure in the Sunday match with Northern Ireland, which is the head of group A after a 3-1 victory in Luxembourg last night.
Nagelsmann will expect more than his players and insisted that their defeat against Slovakia was more to do with their attitude.
He said: “If we start with very simple things like passion: the opponent was superior from the first to the last minute. The opponent brought more football with passion on the field.
“We are not able to come here and play 80%, it is not possible. If we do not bring passion, we can close the book – the quality of football does not matter.”
When asked why his team was so dull, he added: “I have no explanation for this.
“Everyone should have come with the state of mind that we want to play a good role in the World Cup. We were miles from everything today. I no longer want to hear about quality. It is not enough for me if we do not have passion. Maybe we have to count on less quality, but on the players who throw everything. ”
Nagelsmann urges Germany to “bring energy” on Sunday
This does not mean that Nagelsmann will bring household changes for the game in Cologne this weekend.
“I don’t have 150 Germans to choose,” he said. “I trust the team. We have to approach the match as a semi-final of the Champions League. Otherwise, we will play the playoffs in March. I have confidence in the team, but everyone must realize that it is not enough to play with the handbrake.
“The players have spoken. I think they feel what is necessary now. The whole group must transport the energy. If we seem more energetically than today, it will be a better match on Sunday.”
