Germany’s shock World Cup Qualifying defeat to North Macedonia has been labelled a “disaster”, as captain Ilkay Gundogan says “this cannot ever happen”.
Joachim Low’s side were beaten 2-1 at home by the side ranked 65th in the world, marking Germany’s first home World Cup Qualifying loss in 20 years, since being beaten 5-1 by England.
The four-time world champions had controlled the game but missed crucial opportunities, including a golden chance for Chelsea’s Timo Werner 10 minutes from time, before Eljif Elmas’ 85th-minute winner.
“This is bitterly disappointing,” Low said. “We were not fresh enough, we made mistakes. When we played quickly we were dangerous but we did not find the tools to be really threatening.
“Overall, it was disappointing to lose like that at home.
“We will review everything. We have to keep working. We have to find our consistency.”
Gundogan added: “This cannot ever happen. They had two chances, twice in front of our goal and twice they scored.
“It was just too easy. We dominated had our chances but scored just once. To leave a man twice unmarked in the box should not happen.”
North Macedonia’s victory takes them to six points, level with Germany in Group J and three behind leaders Armenia.