Humiliated in the World Cup, relegated in the Nations League, the German national team are in a state of crisis.
After the Netherlands condemned France to a 2-1 defeat last night, it left Germany at the foot of their Nation’s League group, with just one point from three games. With signs of mental scarring still visible from their disastrous World Cup campaign, the German’s are currently running on empty.
In fact, since the summer, the same issues exist among the ranks. It was clear to see that after embarrassing defeats to South Korea and Mexico that dumped them out of the World Cup, Joachim Löw needed to ring the changes as he has done before, nurturing a new, vibrant squad through a transitional period.
After rumblings of discontent in the country, yesterday’s result confirmed that Germany’s “golden generation” is perhaps coming to an end. A team that won the biggest prize in world football four years ago with their efficient, ruthless style is nowhere to be seen.
It was the trust Joachim Löw had for his players that might prove to be the conclusive downfall. After the fiasco out in Russia, the media and supporters criticized the manager for having too much faith on the apparent “old guard” of German football. Particularly the likes of Sami Khedira and Thomas Muller who have all came under an intense barrage of scrutiny for their performances. Playmaker Mesut Özil retired from international football following tension with the German Football Association after he was seen pictured with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The restlessness in the country was only emphasised further when Joachim Löw decided to leave young starlet, Leroy Sane, out of the World Cup squad after the Manchester City winger had just won the PFA Young Player of the Year for his efforts in Man City’s record breaking season.
In the three fixtures out in Russia and the matches since, Germany have looked extremely weary. Epitomized in a three-nil succumbing to the Netherlands in October, the German’s are now completely void of any ideas and the confusion on their fall from grace is clear for all to see.
Perhaps the most surprising thing about the decline is that after their shock elimination from the group stages in June, most expected Germany to return to the international scene with avenge. Yet, it seems they have not learnt from their mistakes. With their obvious reluctance to enter into a new period of German Football and the stubbornness to stick with the tried and trusted, they have simply come to a crashing halt.
Looking around international football, there are plenty of teams undergoing an adaptation stage. Certain countries like England, Spain and the Netherlands are proceeding to bring through the next generation into the global spotlight. Allowing potential stars to showcase their talents has caused for plenty of optimism in their respective countries, the kind of thing the German public are in desperate need of.
Nevertheless, relegation from the Nation’s league may be the decisive evidence the German National team needed. A team that was marveled at six months ago are at present, rapidly falling behind the eight ball.