Germany suffering from worst run of form since the Cold War

Germany have gained a reputation as one of football's teutonic machines in recent years, an almost infallible unit that is almost impossible to get the better of.

England legend Gary Lineker one said: "Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win."

The technical ability and mental fortitude of the Germans has seen them sweep all comers aside over the course of the last decade or so, but times appear to be a changing.

Joachim Low's side are in turmoil and going through the country's worst run of form in almost 40 years, just four years after lifting the World Cup in Brazil.

The Germans have won just three of their last 13 games, a period which has seen Low and co suffer an ignominious early exit at the World Cup in Russia and sit on the verge of relegation from the UEFA Nations League.

To find a similarly disastrous run you have to look all the way back to 1979, a time when the world was gripped by the goings on of the Cold War and Germany remained divided into East and West as a result of their defeat in the Second World War.

Back then West Germany also recorded a run of just three wins in 13 games, with those victories coming against Mexico, Czechoslovakia and the Netherlands.

2018 in particular has been a disaster, with Germany losing six games in a a calendar year for the first time in their history, with their previous worst run coming back in 1985 when they fell to five defeats under the legendary Franz Beckenbauer.

With the after effects of Mesut Ozil's international retirement also looming over the nation, there appears to be no light at the end of the tunnel quite yet for Germany.