Crisis-hit Germany head to Paris
German football is suddenly on the ropes and the national team will be facing relegation from the new Nations League unless they pull a rabbit out the hat against France tonight.
By Mark Gleeson
The Germans have always exuded an air of quiet confidence as they have gone about their footballing business, accompanied by a wellearned swagger from usually winning.
Or at least that used to be the case. These days there is a crisis brewing in their game as the national team battles to compete. There are some serious questions about their future and at club level in recent weeks the dependable Bayern Munich are swaying like a punch-drunk boxer.
These are certainly unusual times for German football and the national side faces a tough examination tonight at the Stade de France in Paris in the new UEFA Nations League, in which they have just one point from their opening two games.
The Germans drew 0-0 with the world champions in Munich last month and then on Saturday night suffered a crushing 3-0 defeat away against neighbours the Netherlands in Amsterdam, raising questions about the future of Joachim Low as coach.
He signed a new deal just before the World Cup in Russia, where the German flopped in the first round.
Their last 12 games have produced 10 goals and the Germans have shown an unusual mental fragility in defence.
There will likely be no letup against the likes of Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe as France look to assert their position as the best in the world.
France have four points from their first two games in the mini group and should all but make sure of top place if they win tonight.
They warmed up against Iceland last week and were two goals down going into the closing stages before fighting their way back to draw and extend their unbeaten run to 14 matches.
Germany could find themselves forced into the relegation play-offs in the Nations League, even if they do win, an irony that will not go unnoticed.
It all looks straight forward for the French, but TAB soccer pools’ players need to be conscious of the fact that Germany have a long history of extracting themselves from difficult positions.
They have the quality to be competitive, but as coach Low explained at the weekend, are lacking in confidence. An early goal in Paris and that could all change.