Germany icons call for change

BASTIAN SCHWEINSTEIGER piled more pressure on boss Joachim Low by calling for change after Germany suffered a “horrible” 6-0 defeat to Spain.

Lothar Matthaus had named Jurgen Klopp as the natural successor as national head coach before the record competitive defeat.

And captain Manuel Neuer yesterday joined calls for the return of Thomas Muller, Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng – three World Cup-winning veterans dropped by Low.

Germany’s biggest newspaper Bild yesterday called for Low – the architect of the 2014 World Cup triumph and the longest-serving coach in international football – to go.

And ex-manchester United midfielder Schweinsteiger, now a pundit on German TV, said: “You don’t have to throw everything away overnight, but you have to ask yourself certain questions.

“You have to change something. You can’t perform as the German national team like that. There are certain values that a German national team must represent. And I didn’t see that on the pitch.

“What bothered me is that they didn’t fight back.”

And 1990 World Cup-winner Matthaus claimed: “I’ve never seen such an overall failure – this is not Germany. Low will not be able to video analyse all the errors – the session would last eight hours!”

Germany crashed out in the group stages of the 2018 World Cup and then failed to win a match in the first UEFA Nations League.

Low reacted by seeking to build for the future with the likes of Timo Werner, Kai Havertz and Serge Gnabry at the expense of the old guard.

But Neuer said of Muller, Boateng and Hummels: “All three players could help us in principle. They have proven that often enough in the past.”

Asked if Low would stay until next year’s Euros, national team director Oliver Bierhoff said: “Yes. We still trust Low, no doubt about that.”

PRESSURE Low’s on the brink and Matthaus wants Klopp as coach