Germany fell to a humiliating 2-1 home loss to North Macedonia on Wednesday, handing the hosts their first World Cup qualifying defeat in 20 years and piling the pressure on coach Joachim Löw.
Napoli midfielder Eljif Elmas scored the winner five minutes from time, after Ilkay Gundogan’s penalty had drawn Germany level following 37-year-old striker Goran Pandev’s first-half opener.
The four-time world champions have never failed to qualify for football’s biggest tournament, but did not enter the inaugural edition in 1930 and were banned in 1950.
However, Löw’s men are already languishing third in the Group J table, three points adrift of leaders Armenia and behind the Macedonians on goal difference.
“That should not have been allowed to happen,” fumed Germany’s stand-in captain Gundogan to RTL after the nation’s first World Cup qualifying loss since the infamous 5-1 thrashing by England in 2001.
“It felt as though North Macedonia only got near our goal twice and scored twice — it was too easy.”
The defeat was just the latest setback suffered by Germany, after their embarrassing 6-0 drubbing by Spain last November and the shock group-stage exit at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
The loss, which ended an 18-match winning streak in World Cup qualifying, will pile more pressure on Löw, who will step down after Euro 2020 in July after 15 years in charge.
The result will also weigh on struggling Chelsea striker Timo Werner, who squandered a golden chance with the score 1-1 after coming off the bench in the second half.
The former RB Leipzig striker has now scored only two goals in his last 31 appearances for club and country.
In other matches, Antoine Griezmann scored the only goal of the game in the second half as reigning world champions France ground out a 1-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Griezmann headed in Adrien Rabiot’s cross on the hour in Sarajevo to give the holders their second away win in four days.
At Wembley, Harry Maguire thundered home a late winner as England beat Poland 2-1 to seize control of their group with three wins from three.
Captain Harry Kane gave Gareth Southgate’s men a first-half lead from the penalty spot but they faded at an empty Wembley and were punished when Jakub Moder struck after a defensive howler from John Stones.
England looked likely to drop their first points of the campaign before Manchester United defender Maguire saved Stones’s blushes with five minutes remaining after an assist from the Manchester City man.
Also, Italy and Spain win against Lithuania (2-0) and Kosovo (3-1) respectively.