Julian Nagelsmann let his emotions get the better of him after Germany’s dire 2-0 defeat to Slovakia in World Cup qualifying.
The 2014 world champions could’ve easily lost by more in their first qualifier for the 2026 tournament, even with a front two worth £185million.
Florian Wirtz and Nick Woltemade failed to produce anything of quality, and Nagelsmann is now certain the problems in his squad aren’t to do with the level of talent.
Asked if there was enough quality in the team, the former Bayern Munich coach showed a rare moment of annoyance in his respoinse.
“I don’t want to hear about the quality anymore,” he said.
“It’s enough for me if we have the emotions. That’s the decisive factor: emotions.
“We supposedly picked the best players from Germany today – if you look at our squad. Maybe there are two or three more at home – not the injured ones – who could perhaps still be included based on their performance.
“You simply can’t nominate everyone. But maybe we need to rely on less quality and instead on players who just give it their all.
“Because that would have led to a better result today than if the best players had played. That’s for sure.”
Reports claimed that Antonio Rudiger also snapped in the dressing room after the defeat, something which Naglesmann alluded to in another one of his answers.
“I’ve been told that they’re already talking to each other – and one or two of them are even getting louder,” he said.
“But that’s how it has to be. Motivation always has to come from within. It starts with a team. Of course, as a coach, you want to do your part – and we all try to do that. But it always starts at the core and then has to spill over to the fans.
“The fans aren’t angry because we’re not going to blow them out of the stadium 6-0, but because we’re simply not bringing enough emotion onto the pitch.”
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