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The one-sided nature of the score sent shockwaves through international football.
Germany are hit for six points, it’s certainly not something you see very often, even though it was in the hands of a very talented Spanish team.
It was their worst loss in almost 90 years – they lost 6-0 at home to Austria in 1931 (then lost 5-0 away later that same year) – and their worst ever in a competitive match.
It was a terrible night for Germany, beaten 6-0 by Spain in the Nations League
Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and his defenders appear disheartened as goals soar on Tuesday
German coach Joachim Low doesn’t know where to look as his team have been humiliated
Only a 9-0 spanking by England fans at Oxford in March 1909 outclassed Tuesday night’s humiliation as a heavier defeat and it was only the fourth time the young German national team had been on the pitch .
So it was undoubtedly a night to rewrite the record books, but history also tells us that such results are worrying. It is worrying for everyone, not for Germany.
It is not uncommon for The team suffer a bit from a hiding place before a major tournament or even a major tournament and end up performing quite well.
We all remember how England beat Rudi Voller’s Germany 5-1 on that heady night in Munich in September 2001.
Yet the following year it was Germany who reached the World Cup final, losing 2-0 to Brazil, while England came out in the quarter-finals.
England beat Germany 5-1 in September 2001 in a World Cup qualifier in Munich
Michael Owen scored a hat-trick at one of England’s most famous nights
But the German team recovered strongly to reach the final of the 2002 tournament
Ahead of the 2006 World Cup, expectations of a home triumph were well and truly smothered by a 4-1 victory for Italy just three months before the tournament.
And yet, Jurgen Klinsmann’s side battled to the semi-finals of their Home World Cup before Italy proved their enemy again.
Setbacks even occurred during the tournament itself. In 1954, the West German team were beaten 8-3 by favorite Hungary in the group stage, the great Sandor Kocsis scoring four.
And yet, when the two nations met again in the final, it was the Germans who won 3-2, a comeback after being two goals behind in the first eight minutes in what is still called the ‘Miracle of Bern ”.
Germany were outclassed by Italy a few months before the 2006 World Cup, losing 4-1 to Florence
This raised doubts about the performance of Jurgen Klinsmann’s team at the World Cup.
But Germany finished third in their home tournament after losing to Italy in the semi-final
It would therefore be foolish to cancel them for the reorganized Euro 2020 next year for the moment.
While the 6-0 defeat in Spain will inevitably increase the pressure on their longtime coach Joachim Low, no one will count the Germans.
As always, a larger context helps. Germany were unbeaten in 12 appearances before Tuesday night as they sought that elusive momentum ahead of the tournament in a year that has seen so much disruption on Covid-19.
They dominated their Euro 2020 qualifying group ahead of the Netherlands and scored 30 goals in eight matches.
Their Nations League campaign proved more difficult and yet Low’s side ended it just two points behind Spain, who edged them ahead on Tuesday night.
A more competent defensive performance would have seen them advance to the tournament final next October.
In 1954, West Germany won the World Cup by beating Hungary in the final in Bern … just days after the same Hungary beat them 8-3 in the group stage.
It’s a dramatic improvement over the 2018 Nations League efforts, which saw them finish without a win and bottom of a three-team group under Holland and France.
By right, they should have suffered the ignominy of relegation to League B but were spared UEFA’s insistence on restructuring the competition.
Low would have been aware of the need to tighten up defensively even before Ferran Torres, Alvaro Morata, Rodri and his company went wild this week.
They have shared six goals with Turkey and Switzerland since international football resumed in September.
The 3-3 draw with Turkey in Cologne in early October, a friendly match, saw Low persist with a three-way defense that was sidelined in their last matches.
Weak with Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger in Germany’s friendly with Czech Republic
Robin Koch of Leeds has played regularly in Germany’s backline in recent months
It featured Chelsea’s Antonio Rudiger, Leeds United’s Robin Koch and Emre Can, although two of Turkey’s goals were scored when Jonathan Tah replaced Rudiger in the second half.
Germany played a four-way defense for the 3-3 draw against Switzerland with Rudiger with Matthias Ginter from Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Against Spain, Koch teamed up with Bayern Munich’s Niklas Sule in central defense with Rudiger suspended.
Time is running out for Low to get it right, especially in what remains an unstable backline.
Inevitably, Tuesday night’s humiliation sparked the old debate over why Low pulled Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels from his squad last year.
Those two, plus Thomas Muller, were the guarantee of Germany’s early exit from the World Cup in 2018, but Low is unlikely to turn back now.
Jerome Boateng (left), Mats Hummels (center) and Thomas Muller (right) were all dropped by Low after Germany exited the group stage at the 2018 World Cup.
Timo Werner looks stunned as Germany suffered their worst defeat since 1931
Germany certainly have enough firepower in attack to go the distance against next year’s Euros
Responsible for the German squad for 14 years, with two more on his contract, Low constantly had to renew and refresh things.
His current crop, touting the likes of Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane, Timo Werner and Kai Havertz in attack, has the potential to excite and challenge the Euros.
Yes, they face an intimidating group comprising France and Portugal (plus Hungary, which can assume whip status). They could face England in the round of 16.
But as history has shown us time and time again, it is not a good idea to rule out German success on the basis of a single defeat, however humiliating.
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