Germany‘s humiliating defeat to North Macedonia in qualification for the 2022 World Cup has raised many eyebrows in the country and throughout Europe.
The national team’s coach, Joachim Low, has been on the receiving end of criticism once again, and many now wonder whether the 61-year-old is not the right man to lead Germany at this summer’s European Championship.
Back in March, the German Football Association (DFB) announced that they will be parting ways with Low after the upcoming tournament, despite the national team boss having been contracted until the 2022 World Cup.
“I have had great triumphs with them and painful defeats, but above all many wonderful and magical moments – not just winning the 2014 World Cup in Brazil,” said Low after the DFB‘s announcement.
“I am and will remain grateful to the DFB, who have always provided me and the team with an ideal working environment.”
Low succeeded Jurgen Klinsmann in 2006 and led Germany all the way to World Cup glory in 2014 before making it to the European Championship semi-finals in 2016.
However, Die Mannschaft‘s displays since then are anything but convincing, with Low‘s side suffering a 6-0 thrashing to Spain last November in the UEFA Nations League.
After beating Iceland 3-0 and grabbing a narrow 1-0 win over Romania in their first two matches in the international break, Germany suffered a humiliating 2-1 home defeat to North Macedonia on Wednesday night.
Their loss to a team which is ranked 65th in the world was their first home defeat in World Cup qualification since losing 5-1 to England back in 2001.
“This is bitterly disappointing,” Low said after the match, which took place at the MSV-Arena in Duisburg.
“We were not fresh enough and we made mistakes. When we played quickly we were dangerous, but we did not find the tools to be really threatening. It was disappointing to lose like that at home.”
Despite winning the World Cup in Brazil in 2014, Germany haven’t managed to come out victorious from a European Championship since 2006.
The four-time World Cup and three-time Euro winners will undoubtedly be among the favourites to win this summer’s competition, but would parting ways with Low earlier offer them a much-needed change of scenery and a boost in confidence ahead of the European Championship?
