Disappointing beginning for Nagelsmann: historic failure in qualifying match

Slovakia secured a historic 0:2 victory over Germany in their opening World Cup qualifier, marking the first time the German team has lost an away match in a World Cup qualifying campaign.

The Slovakian team took an early lead through David Hancko's goal (14), and David Strelec added a second goal (55) despite missing an unplaced shot (54).

Germany's performance was criticised for being erratic, lacking ideas, and penetration. Florian Wirtz, the €85 million man, lacked impact during the match, with his standout moments scarce. Captain Joshua Kimmich's return to midfield didn't bring the hoped-for stability.

National coach Julian Nagelsmann expressed his disappointment following the loss and believes that emotional commitment and effort, rather than quality, may have led to a better result. He brought on more offensive players, Nadiem Amiri and Karim Adeyemi, but it didn't help.

The team's defense was described as easy to play through, with Nnamdi Collins, the Frankfurt debutant, having a particularly poor day on the right side of the back four. The only real chance in the first half came from Wirtz, but Martin Dúbravka was there to save (32).

Duda put the ensuing corner kick onto the post (22), and Sauer again got past Collins and shot from a tight angle (23). Oliver Baumann made a brilliant save against Leo Sauer (21) to keep the scoreline respectable.

The defeat in Slovakia was a disastrous start for Germany's 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign. Nagelsmann believes that possible substitutes like Nadiem Amiri, Maximilian Beier, and Jamie Leweling, who have recently impacted games when coming off the bench due to injuries to key players like Jamal Musiala and Kai Havertz, could be key in turning things around against Northern Ireland.

However, the many absences of these players cannot be used as an excuse for the poor performance. Germany is currently trailing Slovakia in World Cup qualifying Group A.