Germany suffered a shock 2-0 defeat to Slovakia in their opening World Cup qualifier in Bratislava — only the fourth World Cup qualifying loss in their history.
David Hancko broke the deadlock three minutes before half-time, sprinting from his own half, exchanging a neat one-two with David Strelec, and slotting past Oliver Baumann.
Strelec then doubled Slovakia’s lead 10 minutes into the second half, outwitting Antonio Rüdiger with dazzling footwork before curling a superb finish into the top corner.
Despite fielding Liverpool’s Florian Wirtz and Newcastle’s new signing Nick Woltemade, Julian Nagelsmann’s side struggled to threaten in attack.
Germany now turn their focus to Sunday’s home clash against Northern Ireland, who opened with a 3-1 win away to Luxembourg.
Elsewhere in the qualifiers, Spain eased past Bulgaria 3-0 with goals from Mikel Oyarzabal, Marc Cucurella, and Mikel Merino.
In Group G, Matty Cash struck late to rescue Poland a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands, who had led through Denzel Dumfries. Belgium crushed Liechtenstein 6-0 in Group J, while Wales edged Kazakhstan 1-0.
