‘How EMBARRASING!’ German media react to national team’s shock World Cup qualifying defeat against North Macedonia… with one outlet simply saying: ‘This must NOT happen to us’
Germany’s press were in a state of shock this morning after the national team’s 2-1 defeat at home to North Macedonia on a humiliating night for Joachim Low’s side.
The four-time world champions were stunned by a side ranked 65th in the world in their World Cup qualifier, with Eljif Elmas’ late winner proving to be the difference between the two teams.
It was Germany’s first World Cup qualifying loss since 2001 – a 5-1 defeat to England – and the country’s media reacted with disappointment in this morning’s papers, with Germany’s biggest sports newspaper Bild running with the headline: ‘How embarrassing’.
Germany lost to North Macedonia 2-1 in a shock World Cup qualifying loss on Wednesday night
Germany’s biggest sports newspaper Bild ran with the simple headline: ‘How embarrassing’
Meanwhile, website Die Welt stated: ‘That must not happen to us, that is not part of the plan’
Similarly, website Die Welt stated: ‘That must not happen to us, that is not part of the plan’, as Germany’s unbeaten record of World Cup qualifiers came to an end at 35 games.
Suddeutsche Zeitung ran with the headline ‘Back in trauma’ while Franffurter Allgemeine pointed the finger at the manager, Joachim Low, saying: ‘Low and his amazing optimism.’
Afterwards, midfielder Ilkay Gundogan slammed Germany’s poor performance, claiming they made it ‘easy’ for the European minnows.
Gundogan, who scored a second-half penalty to equalise for Germany after Goran Pandev’s opener in the first-half, claimed the home side defended poorly and described the defeat as unacceptable.
Süddeutsche Zeitung ran with the headline ‘Back in trauma’ after the humiliating defeat
Franffurter Allgemeine pointed the finger at Low, saying: ‘Low and his amazing optimism’
The Manchester City star told the official website of the German FA: ‘We cannot allow that to happen. North Macedonia were more or less in our box twice and we made it easy for them.
‘We tried to work chances, but we only managed to score once.
‘The way we conceded both goals was poor.’
Ilkay Gundogan (front) slammed Germany’s defending after their 2-1 loss to North Macedonia
Germany manager Low, who will be leaving as national team coach after this summer’s European Championships, highlighted his side’s mistakes and branded the display as ‘disappointing’.
He added: ‘We simply looked too tired today. There wasn’t an energy about our play and we made too many mistakes going forward.
‘When we moved the ball around quickly, we looked dangerous. Our opponents sat deep and we couldn’t find a way to break them down. All in all, it was disappointing.’