Germany legend and former Manchester United and Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger has torn into his country after their surprise defeat by Slovakia.
Julian Nagelsmann’s side were in World Cup qualifying action on Thursday night, hoping to get their qualification campaign off to the perfect start in Bratislava.
They had been tipped to finish top of their group, which also includes Northern Ireland and Luxembourg, and were backed to win their first match with the likes of Florian Wirtz, Joshua Kimmich and Nick Woltemade in their line-up.
But things didn’t go to plan. In a dismal performance from the German side, they failed to find the back of the net, with David Hancko and David Strelec scoring for the hosts.
Germany had 14 shots in the game, but just three were on target as they failed to breach a resilient Slovakia defence.
And former Germany man Schweinsteiger, who played 121 times for his country – the sixth-most ever – pulled no punches in his analysis of the match.
Nick Woltemade and Co have been blasted by Germany legend Bastian Schweinsteiger after their defeat by Slovakia
Florian Wirtz also played in the game that saw a disappointing German side fall to a 2-0 defeat
Schweinsteiger, who played for the likes of Manchester United and Bayern Munich, said the game ‘hurt my heart so, so much’
‘I’m sorry. But not for a single minute of the game did I believe we would win,’ Schweinsteiger said. ‘Nothing came of it. This is a tough setback.
‘We were really bad. We didn’t play good passes, we didn’t pose any threat. Our body language after the 0-1 was gone immediately. If you want to win anything, you have to show resilience.’
He added: ‘I have to think, when was the last time I saw German fans booing and waving their own players away? That hurt my heart so, so much.
‘You should be happy if you qualify for the World Cup. If we play like we did today…’
The game may raise concerns for Newcastle and Liverpool fans, who saw Wirtz and Woltemade prove to be almost anonymous in attacking areas.
While Woltemade is yet to play for Newcastle since his £65million move, Wirtz has had a tough start to life at Liverpool since his £116m transfer to Anfield. That poor form continued onto the international stage on Thursday.
‘Look at [Milan] Skriniar, at the back for the Slovakians,’ Schweinsteiger added of the Fenerbahce defender. ‘None of us could hold a candle to him.’
Defender Jonathan Tah, meanwhile, said of his side’s performance: ‘Overall, we had very little control and deserved to lose. That can’t be denied. It was a very weak game from us.’
Germany’s next game is against Northern Ireland – who beat Luxembourg 3-1 Thursday – on Sunday. They already face a battle to qualify automatically for the 2026 World Cup.
