Germany not as good as England, Spain or France as Didi Hamann dismisses World Cup favourites tag after 'trepid' qualifying campaign

Germany ended their World Cup qualifying campaign in absolutely devastating fashion as they hammered Slovakia 6-0 at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig on Monday, thus securing a direct spot to next year's World Cup in North America. It was a performance that "relieved" the team, in striker Nick Woltemade's words, especially after the Germans slumped to a shock 2-0 defeat at Slovakia's hands in the opening game of the qualifying campaign back in September.

After the game, Germany centre-back Nico Schlotterbeck fired a warning to their biggest rivals. “If we play like we did today, we are a very good team. And if the players who can help us but are currently injured come back, I believe we can have a very strong World Cup," he told ZDF. "The first step has been taken – and at the World Cup, the next steps will follow. 

“If we play the World Cup like we did at the Euros last year – with a bit more luck and slightly better performances – we can really make an impact. If we play like we did today, it doesn’t matter whether we're facing the 46th-ranked team or the top-ranked team. We can beat any opponent. We are still Germany. We want to achieve something. I want to go to the World Cup to win it.”

Speaking to Ran, Hamann claimed that the 6-0 win over Slovakia was "a conciliatory end to a very average World Cup qualifying campaign." Furthermore, he spoke about the criticism Nagelsmann has been subjected to in recent months.

"Criticism is always levelled at a national coach when things aren't going well," he claimed. "And if you look at the performances in the first five qualifying matches, there wasn't a single good one. At most, maybe a good half hour. Therefore, this convincing victory certainly gives Julian Nagelsmann a boost. And it brings some calm, which is also important, of course."

However, the former Liverpool, Manchester City, Newcastle United and Bayern Munich defensive midfielder firmly believes that Germany are not at the same level as some of their European counterparts.

"The important thing now was to come out of the group stage as winners and thus qualify directly. You could see that it's getting increasingly difficult against the supposedly weaker teams," he added. 

"Nevertheless, they managed it, albeit with some trepidation. But you could see that there are two or three teams in Europe that are better than us. For example, the English, the French, or the Spanish. So we will be in the wider circle at the World Cup, but as things stand today, certainly not among the top favourites. And I don't think that will change much by next summer. But that doesn't necessarily mean anything for the tournament. We showed that at the 2002 World Cup when we reached the final."

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While Hamann was straightforward and honest in his assessment of Die Mannschaft, Lothar Matthaus, Germany's most-capped player of all-time, believes that Nagelsmann & Co. are "on par" with the likes of Spain, England, France and Portugal, despite a sub-par qualifying campaign.

"With all due respect to these opponents, Germany wants to compete against the best, and those are the other group winners such as England, Portugal or France," he wrote in his Sky Sportcolumn this week.

"If we can replicate what we showed in Leipzig, we're on par with these teams. We saw that in the summer. In the Nations League defeats against Portugal and France, Germany wasn't any worse than their opponents. If the German team shows the same attitude and passion and plays together like they did against Slovakia, they have nothing to fear.

"You shouldn't underestimate yourself. Germany isn't small. I've always said that our team belongs among the favourites for the World Cup, even if they've had a poor run of form. Our World Cup qualifying campaigns were also sometimes bumpy in the past.  

"The German team might even be under less pressure at the World Cup. The team will be even more focused next year, especially because the whole world will be watching."

Germany were without the services of some of their most experienced and/or talented individuals. Kai Havertz, who has already bagged 20 goals for the national team, missed the entire qualifying campaign due to injury. So did the uber-talented Jamal Musiala, as well as veterans Antonio Rudiger and Marc-Andre ter Stegen. 

Considering that Germany have been undergoing a transition following the retirements of Manuel Neuer, Toni Kroos and Thomas Muller, the presence of the aforementioned names could further boost their prospects at the World Cup next summer.