BERLIN: A World Cup without Germany used to be unthinkable. Now the four-time champion needs to turn things around to ensure a spot at next year’s tournament.
A shock 2-0 loss to Slovakia in World Cup qualifying means Julian Nagelsmann’s team may need a perfect record in the rest of their qualifiers, starting with wins over Luxembourg on Friday and Northern Ireland on Monday.
“Everyone expects of us that we’ll beat every opponent 5-0, 6-0 but that’s no longer possible,” midfielder Nadiem Amiri said in comments reported by German agency dpa.
“The times have simply changed. Everyone’s good, everyone can hold their own. For us it’s just important to win. We need win after win.”
The qualifying format — a four-team group where only the winner qualifies automatically — means Germany must win each of their remaining games unless Slovakia slips up, and get ahead of Slovakia on goal difference too.
Second place would put Germany into a bracket of four teams competing for one spot early next year.
Making history the wrong way
If Germany did fail to make it to the expanded, 48-team World Cup, it would be a historic shock.
Until their loss in Slovakia last month, Germany had never lost a World Cup qualifying game away from home. The only times they missed the men’s World Cup were the inaugural 13-team 1930 event, which they skipped along with most of Europe, and 1950, when they were excluded following World War II.
Of course, even when they have qualified, Germany haven’t always produced the goods.
Group-stage exits in 2018 and 2022 were huge disappointments for a team which had top-class individual players but didn’t seem to gel as a team. A goose-themed motivational talk by then-coach Hansi Flick at the 2022 World Cup fell flat and seemed to typify the lack of enthusiasm.
That all means Germany haven’t played a World Cup knockout game since winning the 2014 final.
Overcoming injuries
Germany’s qualification fight has been made harder by injuries.
Barcelona’s Marc-André ter Stegen would be first-choice goalkeeper if fit but hasn’t played all year, while Real Madrid defender Antonio Rüdiger is out with a muscle injury and Bayern Munich’s attacking midfield star Jamal Musiala likely won’t return until the new year.
Nagelsmann seems intent on forging a partnership between Florian Wirtz and Newcastle’s Nick Woltemade, but Wirtz has yet to find his best form since his Liverpool move and Woltemade has had a flu-like illness this week. That meant the tall striker was training separately Wednesday.
There’s extra attention on new player Nathaniel Brown, a left back from Eintracht Frankurt who would also be eligible for the United States. Brown faces the challenge of doing better than his Frankfurt teammate Nnamdi Collins, who was dropped after costly errors on debut in the Slovakia loss.
‘We need win after win’: Crunch time looms for Germany in World Cup qualifying
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‘We need win after win’: Crunch time looms for Germany in World Cup qualifying
- “Everyone expects of us that we’ll beat every opponent 5-0, 6-0 but that’s no longer possible,” midfielder Nadiem Amiri said
- Until their loss in Slovakia last month, Germany had never lost a World Cup qualifying game away from home
Alcaraz wins thriller with Fritz at ATP Finals, Musetti downs De Minaur
- Alcaraz needs one more victory to guarantee the year-ending world No. 1 spot
- Musetti’s 7-5 3-6 7-5 win means that all four players can still make the semifinals
TURIN, Italy: Carlos Alcaraz came under extreme pressure before overcoming Taylor Fritz 6-7(2) 7-5 6-3 in a thrilling match at the ATP Finals on Tuesday, before Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti beat Alex de Minaur in a dramatic encounter.
Musetti’s 7-5 3-6 7-5 win means that all four players can still make the semifinals, with the Italian facing Alcaraz, on two wins from two, and Fritz taking on De Minaur on Thursday to close out the Jimmy Connors Group, with the top two making the last four.
Last year’s finalist Fritz played the tennis of his life, as both men served up the best encounter of the season-ending championships so far, but the American ran out of steam as Alcaraz turned on the style and took the deciding set with ease.
Alcaraz and Fritz had won their opening group matches, and the Spaniard looked in real trouble when the American took the opening set in a tiebreak. Alcaraz faced break points in the second set but rallied back to draw level.
Fritz began to tire, and Alcaraz broke to lead 4-2 in the final set before wrapping up the win in two hours and 48 minutes by serving out to love.
“It was pretty tight, I was struggling more than him in the first set,” Alcaraz said. “I wasn’t serving well, and I think he was pretty comfortable from the baseline, from everywhere.”
Alcaraz needs one more victory to guarantee the year-ending world No. 1 spot.
Tuesday’s clash was a battle from the opening game, with Fritz taking nine minutes to hold after hitting three aces but also facing two break points. The American forced three break points in the next game before the pair traded breaks.
Fritz raced into a 5-2 lead in the tiebreak and smashed two aces to take the set. At 2-2 in the second, Alcaraz was rattled, his drop shots which earlier beat Fritz began to fall short but, after losing advantage five times, the Spaniard held on.
Alcaraz got lucky with a shot that hit the net but crept over in the final game of the second set and broke to take the match to a third, where the Spaniard outclassed an exhausted Fritz.
“I was really relieved after the win because of everything I went through during the match,” Alcaraz said.
“I wasn’t feeling the ball as well as I was in the first round, but I’m really happy that I found a way to come back.”
Magical Musetti
Musetti looked down and out with De Minaur serving for the match but those few who left early to beat the traffic missed out on a stunning comeback.
The Italian took the first set after breaking serve at 5-5, and De Minaur survived three break points in the second set opener before finding his first break points of the match at 4-4 and making them count.
De Minaur had control in the final set at 2-0 up, but when it came to the crunch Musetti found energy from somewhere to pull off a great escape, as defeat would have meant elimination.
After two spectators died from cardiac arrests on Monday, play was held up again for a medical emergency in the crowd in the final set of Musetti’s win. The match was suspended for several minutes before resuming. Local media reported a fan was transported to hospital in a serious but not life-threatening condition.
