Germany are 'lucky it's impossible to be eliminated' from easy World Cup group as Toni Kroos highlights key issue with Julian Nagelsmann's team

Germany’s World Cup qualifying campaign hit another bump last week as Julian Nagelsmann’s side suffered a shock 2-0 defeat to Slovakia. The loss sparked a furious reaction in Germany as players, fans and pundits raged at a performance that once again raising questions about the mental strength of the team. The European powerhouse bounced back with a 3-1 win over Northern Ireland on Sunday, but even that was hardly convincing as the teams were tied at 1-1 until Nadiem Amiri's 69th minute goal and Florian Wirtz's free-kick three minutes later. 

Germany were expected to stroll through their qualification group, with Slovakia, Northern Ireland and Luxembourg standing in their way. However, they are fighting an uphill battle already as they sit three points behind Slovakia. Failure to finish in the top two would see them miss out on next year's competition, and national team legend Kroos believes they are lucky that such an outcome is virtually impossible as he addressed the confidence issues plaguing the squad.

"We're very fortunate that we've been assigned a group where it's impossible to be eliminated," the 35-year-old said on his podcast Einfach mal Luppen, and went on to explain the deeper issue behind the team. 

"I don't think we're lacking mentality that much. I think it's more a question of self-confidence and quality. You get the feeling there's a greater fear of making mistakes. That has nothing to do with a lack of mentality. It came across as if they weren't exactly brimming with confidence. Therefore, the image to the outside world is that they don't want to play. I would still never say that no one wants to play these games."

He added: "It will always be like this: Slovakia will always be more motivated than Germany in a match against each other. That's simply because the team with less quality knows: We need more than our opponents. The difference is that in the past, Germany always gave enough – coupled with their quality – to make it enough."

The 2014 World Cup winners return to action in October with matches against Luxembourg and Northern Ireland. With qualification unlikely to be in jeopardy, the focus will be on Nagelsmann restoring confidence and ensuring his team enter 2026 in sharper form.

Additional reporting by Marko Brkic.