German football.

Football tends to go in cycles, but one constant has always been German international teams 'efficiency'.

However, the last year has been a disaster for "Die Mannschaft". A group stage elimination in Russia, followed by relegation from the inaugural Nations League has left German football at crisis point.
The World Cup was particularly damaging to the reputation of German football, having won 1, been runners-up once and semi finalists twice in the last 4 World Cups. In fact their previous worst performance (post WW2) was quarter finals.
The fall out from the year of hell has been the scapegoating and discarding of the old guard. Mesut Ozil was first, followed recently by Thomas Mueller, Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng.

Euro qualification rarely throws up a "big game", but tonight Germany face their biggest rival - the Netherlands. Tellingly enough, it was the Dutch who condemned the Germans to relegation from the top tier in the Nations League. A Netherlands team who themselves were in crisis a year ago, missing out on qualification to the World Cup and looking like a seriously average side. Their rebuilding has been swift and very effective.
While qualification for Euro 2020 is surely not in doubt, with Northern Ireland, Estonia and Belarus the other teams chasing a generous 2 places, defeat tonight will surely darken the clouds.

Club football in Germany is also not at its strongest. Thrashings for Dortmund and Schalke by English clubs in the Champions League was compounded by Liverpool dismantling the jewel in Germanys crown, Bayern Munich. The fact the big German clubs are now looking at English academies for their next star player is telling, as German football fights to revitalise itself.


Joachim Low, the man who has led the national side since 2006, is now trying to bring a new generation through. The likes of Leroy Sane, Serge Gnabry, Kai Havertz, Julian Brandt, Jonathon Tah, Niklas Sule, Thilo Kehrer and Timo Werner have been entrusted with restoring German Pride. A massive task for such a young group of players.

Can Low fight his way through this downturn of fortunes? Could a defeat tonight bring an end to a very successful career?


No-one will truly dismiss Germanys chances next summer, but tonight may prove pivotal to their future.