Joachim Low Fumes After Germany Extend Winless 2020 Run Against Turkey
Joachim Low did not hold back in a scathing assessment of Germany’s performance in a 3-3 draw against Turkey in Cologne on Wednesday.
The 2014 FIFA World Cup champions took the lead three times at the Rhein Energie Stadion but were pegged back on each occasion by a determined Turkish side, including a final equaliser in the fourth minute of second half stoppage time.
It marked the third time Germany have failed to win this year, having also thrown away leads against Spain and Switzerland during the last international break.
Low could not hide his disappointment in Germany’s latest outing and refused to blame fatigue for the poor showing.
"The problem has been around for a long time," he said at his post-match news conference. "This team, which has never played together like this, cannot be blamed.
"That has happened to the other players as well. I am disappointed and p***** off, that is the right word."
"Fatigue cannot be a reason, it is not an excuse or an explanation," he added.
"It's about losing control of the game, exploiting opportunities, simply losing the ball in zones where you don't always have to play across the pitch.
"When it comes to organising after losing the ball, we also have open positions that the opponent can use.
"When making the assignment, we have to say: In the box there is man against man, there is no space coverage. Concentration and mentality also play a role.
"[Karaman] was completely alone in the penalty area. Under no circumstances should that happen. We did this now and in a few other games. We have to talk about it.
"What can we do better when we have the lead? We then want to develop a mentality from this."
Germany are back in Nations League action against Ukraine on Saturday before taking on Switzerland on Tuesday.
