After their victory against Luxembourg on Friday evening (2-0), Germany is still facing challenges in securing a spot for the 2026 World Cup. Currently tied on points with Slovakia, the team will play a crucial match on Monday to claim the top position and a ticket to the United States. Despite the victory, achieved with a brace from Nick Woltemade, coach Julian Nagelsmann’s squad continues to face criticism from local media.
“After the first 45 minutes of yesterday’s match against Luxembourg, winning the World Cup seems almost absurd. Luxembourg was clearly the better team, and Germany was fortunate to go into halftime without conceding any goals,” noted Fussball Transfers, highlighting the lackluster performance on the field where Luxembourg dominated the first half. “The defense, led by captain Jonathan Tah (29), was shaky. The attack, with the return of German international Leroy Sané, was mostly ineffective,” wrote Bild, which rated the Tah-Anton pairing as a 5 on a scale where 1 is the best and 6 is the worst.
Concerns Over Defense and a Stuttering Attack
The German daily even ironically praised goalkeeper Oliver Baumann, who touched the ball nearly as many times (33) in the first half as strikers Serge Gnabry (22) and Nick Woltemade (18) combined. Kicker described the match as a “near rout… Woltemade’s two goals saved Germany from what could have been a dark chapter in the history of the four-time world champions,” indicating that the team’s leaders did not meet expectations.
