Seven months ahead of the 2024 UEFA Euro, the German national team seems stuck in an alarming state.
Despite a range of top-class players employed
File photo of Julian Nagelsmann.
While players such as Ilkay Gundogan (Barcelona), Antonio Rudiger (Real), Joshua Kimmich, Leroy Sane (Bayern), Kai Havertz (Arsenal), and Florian Wirtz (Leverkusen) are riding the wave with their clubs, the national team surprises its fans continuously with unpleasant setbacks.
Team captain Gundogan said, "It can't get worse," following painful losses to Turkey (3-2) and Austria (2-0).
The 22 conceded goals in 11 games in 2023 stand for a new low point while newly promoted national coach Julian Nagelsmann is back in the line of fire following the poor performance this Tuesday evening in Vienna coming along with a red card for Sane.
With four months left until the 2024 Euro tournament host's decisive friendlies against France and the Netherlands, drastic changes seem inevitable to create a convincing team performance.
"We have a solid spirit off the pitch, but we don't get the inspiring mood transferred into our games," Nagelsmann admitted.
36-year-old Nagelsmann and association sporting director Rudi Voller openly speak of a mental problem having taken hold of the four-time world champion.
Naming the ones to blame for the current muddle, not only players get under pressure, but also the coach after the former Bayern manager caused irritation with curious line-ups.
The low motivation seems to come along with a hierarchy, and the leader problem as a team-bearing axis seems out of sight.
Nagelsmann's attempts to gain game control by counting on a dominant attacking line to ease tensions for his wavering defense have failed. The testing of 40 different players under predecessor Hansi Flick and the current coach didn't pay off.
"The coach knows about the reasons for our failure," Gundogan said. "It's not only the backline defending."
Emergency solutions need to be set up by Nagelsmann over the upcoming four months without training sessions or internationals.
"I don't want us to be stuck in the victim role and talk about what went wrong over the past years. It's on everyone to think about his individual performance," the German manager said after the worst start for a German national coach in 24 years.
He called it decisive to develop the passion and spirit "we saw from Turkey and Austria." To just head for an artistic way of playing football "won't make us happy," he added.
