The Japan Times - Under-fire Nagelsmann promises 'changes' after Slovakia upset

The Germans were thoroughly outclassed against Slovakia on Thursday, losing to the underdog side for the first time in their history.

The four-time World Cup winners had never previously lost a qualification match for the tournament.

A further disappointment against Northern Ireland would leave Nagelsmann's men with little room for error in their bid to qualify directly for the World Cup.

Nagelsmann, 38, slammed his players' attitude after the defeat on Thursday, saying they lacked emotion and were "miles away" from a good performance.

"We had five decent minutes. That's not enough," the coach said.

At full-time, captain Joshua Kimmich said "if we perform like we did today, we'll definitely not qualify" for the World Cup.

On Saturday, Nagelsmann said: "There will certainly be some changes in terms of personnel. Not all 10 players will be rotated, but we have to put in a better performance than we did on Thursday."

Germany have improved under Nagelsmann after a poor decade, with group stage exits at the Russia and Qatar World Cups bookending a last-16 Euros defeat to England in 2021.

Taking over in late 2023, Germany lost just one of 15 matches in 2024 -- a quarter-final exit at the hands of eventual champions Spain at the European Championships.

This year, Germany have lost three and drawn one of their five games and risk an unthinkable failure to qualify for next year's World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The coach said he had no fears about his future despite copping criticism in the German press, saying "it's never good to be afraid".

"I'm still brave enough and I want to win every game and we'll try and do our best tomorrow," he said.

"The team is important, not me, and I think we'll do a better job tomorrow than on Thursday."

Germany were given a rare bit of good news on Saturday, with forward Serge Gnabry cleared to play after picking up an arm injury against Slovakia.

The Germans are dealing with an injury crisis, particularly up front, with Jamal Musiala, Kai Havertz, Tim Kleindienst and Niclas Fuellkrug all missing through injury.

On Thursday, Germany called up Borussia Dortmund forward Maximilian Beier to replace the injured Fuellkrug.

K.Okada--JT