June 5 – In a brutal assessment of Germany’s Nations League defeat to Portugal on Wednesday, captain Joshua Kimmich called his side’s performance “one of the worst”.
The veteran featured in his 100th cap, but there was little to celebrate against the Portuguese who proved to be superior, drawing on the strength of their bench to mastermind a 2-1 comeback victory.
Kimmich’s view was damning: “That was one of our worst games. It was an absolutely deserved defeat. We weren’t good enough with and without the ball. After going 1-0 up, we showed nothing at all. We have to learn from that. If we don’t bring energy, we can’t compete against top European teams.
“You couldn’t see that we have a winning mentality, that we have a certain greed, that we wanted to be in the final.”
Germany last won a trophy in 2017, claiming the now-defunct Confederations Cup, but the team of Julian Nagelsmann had hoped to build on last summer’s Euro 2024 when they reached the quarter-finals and went toe-to-toe with eventual winners Spain. However, Portugal handed the hosts a reality check and condemned Germany to the third-place playoff.
Nagelsmann echoed his captain’s sentiment. He admitted this had not been a good night for Germany and called out several tactical mistakes as well. He said: “We are deservedly out of the final. We have to give 100%, that’s how we can face the top teams. We didn’t have the sharpness we’ve shown in recent games.”
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at moc.l1749225380labto1749225380ofdlr1749225380owedi1749225380sni@i1749225380tnuk.1749225380ardni1749225380mas1749225380