In the opening match of the World Cup qualifiers, Germany was stunned in a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Slovakia. Historically, the loss will be remembered as Germany’s first away loss in a World Cup qualifier. Germany controlled possession early, but struggled mightily with Slovakia’s quick dribbling and movement, especially in 1v1 situations. In the 42nd minute, left back Dávid Hancko flew forward and was on the receiving end of a cross from Dávid Strelec. In the 55th minute, Strelec followed up his
first half heroics with an impressive curler to put the game on ice.
Jersey Swap: Dávid Strelec
Earlier this week, Strelec was a £6.5M deadline transfer to Middlesbrough from Slovan Bratislava. Today, he was the national hero, getting behind Antonio Rüdiger for the game-winning assist and breaking the defender’s ankles to put the game out of reach with a beautiful goal in the second half. Strelec’s fearless attitude resonated throughout the Slovakian squad and they were rewarded with an impressive upset victory.
Der Kaiser: Oliver Baumann
Baumann’s two big saves in the first half kept the match close, but the Hoffenheim goalkeeper was unable to prevent two goals from screaming past him and he was still outplayed by his Slovakian counterpart, Martin Dúbravka, who produced the five saves necessary to hold the clean sheet.
Fußballgott: Joshua Kimmich
Kimmich spent a lot of the first half trying to find a forward pass but there was zero movement, possibly by design. He still managed a 97% passing rate, went three-for-three on long balls, and was a force on the defensive end. Ultimately, Kimmich can do all of these same things from the right back position if that introduces a better midfielder or attacker onto the starting XI.
Der Bomber: Florian Wirtz
The entire offense was a non-factor for most of this game. After a quiet first half, Wirtz picked up the pace a little bit and brought some creativity to the game. It would have been nice to see Germany recover at least one goal late in the game but never really found a decent opportunity.
Wirtz is better suited to roam the central midfield but Julian Nagelsmann is severely limited in his options at winger. This would potentially open up some space for Nick Woltemade to make things happen as well.
Meister of the Match: Maximilian Mittelstädt
The rest of the defense was absolutely abysmal. The Slovakians abused Germany’s right flank in the first half and could have scored even more goals. David Raum replaced a struggling Nnamdi Collins, switching Mittelstädt to the right side. Unfortunately, Slovakia just started attacking Germany’s left flank instead. Mittelstädt finished the match with four clearances, two tackles, a blocked shot, an interception, and won three ground duels. It is very depressing that Mittelstädt was the best German player tonight.
