Jamal Musiala dubbed irreplaceable 'like Messi' by German icon after shock World Cup qualifying defeat to Slovakia

For all the star names on Julian Nagelsmann’s teamsheet, Germany looked disjointed and fragile from the outset. Slovakia smelled blood and pounced. The opener came after Florian Wirtz was easily robbed of possession on the flank. David Hancko surged forward into the gaping space, combining with teammates before slotting past the exposed Oliver Baumann. The second goal was even more damning. David Strelec toyed with Antonio Rudiger before unleashing a thunderbolt. 

Matthaus did not hold back when analysing the impact of Musiala’s absence. Comparing him to Messi, the 1990 World Cup winner declared to Sky Sports Germany: "You can't replace Musiala one-to-one. Just like Messi, you can't. Hopefully, he'll be back soon."

Matthaus was scathing in his post-match assessment, labelling the display as “appalling” and suggesting that Germany were fortunate the scoreline was only 2-0.

"You can always lose 2-0, the question is just how. Much more surprising than the defeat itself was the manner," he said. "The way we played football was appalling. And if we're honest, the result was very flattering. It easily could have been 4-0 or 5-0."

Germany had never before lost a World Cup qualifier away from home, making this defeat all the more seismic.

"When you lose 2-0 and the goalkeeper of the losing team was the best player, you know what that means," Matthaus added. "We have the quality in our ranks. But I had the impression that Julian Nagelsmann's team was quite surprised. They weren't expecting this style of play. They were caught off guard by the Slovaks' aggressive pressing. They played one-on-one all over the pitch, and we couldn't cope with that at all. We never found and showed the right attitude in this game. And that's one thing I don't like at all."

Against Slovakia, Germany looked flat, predictable, and unable to cope under pressure. For Nagelsmann, the task is now about more than just securing points. He must find a way to rebuild confidence, sharpen attitudes, and plug the glaring holes that Slovakia so ruthlessly exploited. With Northern Ireland visiting this Sunday, the pressure is firmly on Die Mannschaft to respond. Anything less than victory would deepen the crisis.