Holland thrash Germany in Nations League
Germany’s post-World Cup woes continued on Saturday night in Amsterdam as they were embarrassed by bitter rivals Holland in a crucial Nations League clash.
On the night where Joachim Löw broke the record for the most games in charge of the German national side, serious questions were raised over his future for the first time as they fell behind to a young Dutch side and never looked like getting back into the game.
Mark Uth was given his debut alongside Timo Werner at the head of the attack, but even with Toni Kroos and Emre Can behind they could not find any way past their Orange-clad opponents. Virgil van Dijk marshalled the defence with confidence, but his most telling contribution came at the other end.
He nodded home the opening goal, reacting quickest to an effort that cannoned off the crossbar, and that was the game for Germany. Their lack of goals has been a serious problem for a while now, and it became more evident the more they pushed forward with the game on the line.
To compound their misery, a pacy Dutch counter-attacking unit was a constant thorn and threatened to add to the scoreline as the attacks increased in frequency during the second half. The introductions of Julian Draxler and Leroy Sane did little to help, with Sane missing the only clear-cut chance that ‘Die Mannschaft’ managed to create.
The Manchester City winger was played through by Ginter, but he flashed an effort wide of the far post with the goal gaping. With time running out, Holland finally capitalised on the break.
Memphis Depay finished off a move after being found with a cross from the right, taking a touch before slotting the ball past Neuer. He had time to crash an effort off the bar a minute later, before Georginio Wijnaldum completed the rout in injury time.
The former Newcastle player left Jerome Boateng for dead before finding the bottom corner, and the roof was lifted off the Johann Cruijff Arena. It proved to be the last kick of the game.
It makes a statement for Holland, as they continue to recover from failing to qualify for the World Cup in Russia. Germany will be chasing a similar transformation. They look a shadow of the side they were a year ago, and now sit bottom of the group behind Holland and France.