Germany fell to a shock 2-0 defeat against Slovakia in the opening match of their World Cup qualifying campaign. Die Mannschaft looked sluggish and laboured as they were outplayed by their opponents for the majority of the match.
Julian Nagelsmann was left far from pleased with how his team performed in their first World Cup qualifier, and will be looking for significant improvements in their next one against Northern Ireland.
Here is how the German players rated in their defeat:
Germany Player Ratings:
Oliver Baumann – 5
The keeper was forced into some strong saves by the opposition. Could have done very little for either of the goals he conceded, especially the second, which was well out of his reach.
Nnamdi Collins – 3
It was certainly not the senior debut that Collins would have been dreaming of. The Slovakian attackers got the better of him on multiple occasions. Very little impact on play, alongside a very tough night for the 21-year-old
Antonio Rüdiger – 4
Rüdiger seemed to struggle against Slovakia, looking one step behind play for most of the match. Strelec was too quick for him, finding the space to cut in and curl his shot into the goal. Made the most accurate passes of any player, but regardless, it was a tough night for the German.
Jonathan Tah – 5
Certainly not the worst of the German backline on the night, but still looked disorganised at times, particularly in the second half. Tah won the majority of his duels and was relatively solid in comparison to his fellow defenders.
Maximilian Mittelstädt – 5
It was a decent first half from the full-back. He was one of the players who got more involved in the attacking phases of play, especially in the first half, where he had a great chance to give his side the lead.
Joshua Kimmich – 5
The defensive midfielder was accurate with his passing. However, not many of these passes caused problems for Slovakia in the final third. The German appeared hesitant at times to take risks with his passing – a very conservative display on a night where Germany needed a spark.
Angelo Stiller – 4.5
The German midfield, including Stiller, was nowhere near as effective as they could have been in the centre of the park. Stiller allowed Slovakia the space required to mount counterattacks. His passing was accurate and helped Germany progress into the final third on multiple occasions.
Serge Gnabry – 5
The winger had enough of the ball to make an impact on the game, but he never got in any positions that posed a real threat to the Slovakian backline. By his standards, it was a poor night in Bratislava for Gnabry.
Leon Goretzka – 4
Goretzka was barely in the game at all. He failed to have any form of impact on the game. This may be partially due to him being played further up the pitch than he would usually operate at. But it was still a disappointing performance from the 30-year-old.
Florian Wirtz – 6
The most threatening in German colours, especially in the first half. He created the most chances out of any player on the pitch (4), but on the contrary, he also lost the most duels.
Nick Woltemade – 4
Woltemade was anonymous for large periods of the game. He managed only 26 touches in the 90 minutes that he played and failed to strike the target on any occasion.
Substitutes:
David Raum – 5
He was certainly more effective than Nnamdi Collins, whom he replaced. However, he still had very little influence on proceedings.
Nadiem Amiri – 4
Offered very little difference in a German midfield that continued to lack control over their opponents. On the ball very little and fired some hopeful attempts at goal that did not lead to anything
Karim Adeyemi – 4
Like the other two substitutes, he offered very little that could change the game for Germany, who were seemingly destined for defeat in this one. Only had 15 touches of the ball in the 24 minutes that he played.