Munich may be in the final throws of Oktoberfest, but in terms of their World Cup celebrations Germany’s post-party slump has firmly taken hold.
Since beating Argentina in Rio de Janeiro in the final on July 13, Die Mannschaft have lost two of their three games.
While the 4-2 defeat to Argentina can be written off as a friendly, the real concern has come from the performances against Scotland and Poland.
In many ways the 2-1 victory over the Scots was the most alarming; at home, Germany looked uneasy at the back against an attack whose 2014 qualifying campaign saw them score eight goals in 10 games, while in the final third they scrambled their way to two goals with little authority or finesse.
Against the Poles on Saturday, they were better at building pressure but this time their poor finishing stood out. Germany had 29 shots to Poland’s five with Thomas Muller, debutant Karim Bellarabi and Lukas Podolski all missing excellent chances. Yet there is a reason why Germany’s media and, more importantly, Joachim Low are not getting too carried away.
Firstly, there is the swathe of post-World Cup retirements which Low has had to deal with: Philipp Lahm, Per Mertesacker, Miroslav Klose (combined caps: 354) all quitting the international arena.
In the case of Klose, 36, it was largely anticipated but Lahm and Mertesacker, both aged 30, would have been expected to at least play on until Euro 2016. Had they not been triumphant in Brazil it’s not unreasonable to suggest we’d still be seeing them in white and black.
Losing that trio from the dressing room has had a huge impact; all three immensely popular and respected figures bringing a commanding presence on and off the pitch. From an ability point of view also, Low has lost his best full-back, his most experienced central defender and his most consistent finisher. The issues on display against Scotland and Poland only seek to emphasise this.
Injuries also continue to plague the national team this year. Bastian Schweinsteiger was named as Lahm’s replacement as captain on September 2 yet hasn’t kicked a ball since his man-of-the-match display in the Maracana due to a knee injury.
Marco Reus, Mesut Ozil, Sami Khedira, Mario Gomez, Benedikt Howedes and Ilkay Gundogan were also sidelined against Poland and will miss the match against the Republic of Ireland today.
These aren’t fringe players. You can make a strong first XI out of the retirements and injury victims Low has had to deal with.
Consequently, neither he or anybody is quite sure what their best team is at present.
Low’s squad for the matches against Poland and the Republic of Ireland also contains eight of 16 outfield players still in single figures for caps. All this change and disruption is bound to have an affect and it will take time to bed in the new recruits.
Thankfully for Germany, the expanded Euro 2016 means qualification is still likely to be secured, although the result in Warsaw has opened up Group D significantly more than first envisaged.
Low should have time to revamp his squad and bring through the next wave of young Bundesliga stars. Today's game against Ireland, however, does take on extra significance.
