Germany lose to Turkey in Nagelsmann's home debut

Berlin's Olympic stadium is not exactly known for its vibrant atmosphere. But the ground that will host the final of Euro 2024 rumbled and came to life as Germany fell to a surprise defeat against Turkey.

It wasn't the home crowd creating the deafening noise but the Turkish fans present, who formed a majority. The fixture felt like it was always going to be tricky one for the Germans, not only in Berlin but in any German city. Germany is home to the largest Turkish population outside of Turkey.

However, it only took Germany's Kai Havertz five minutes to temporarily silence the initial ruckus from the away supporters. The striker scored a cool tap-in courtesy of a Leroy Sané assist from the right wing. Soon, the loud "Türkiye, Türkiye" chants turned into boos and whistles as Julian Nagelsmann's squad started to control the game.

This was Nagelsmann's first home match since being appointed Germany coach after Hansi Flick's sacking. The manager knew a good result would be worth its weight in gold in front of the home fans, especially after the string of negative results from his predecessor and with Euro 2024 looming. 

Dodgy defense

"We want to have a good stability," said Nagelsmann ahead of the game. "Looking ahead to the Euros, it's important to have a good defense. We want to be more dominant during games to reduce the time we need to defend."

But after a strong half hour, his team dozed off and did exactly the opposite of what Nagelsmann had requested. In a span of less than 10 minutes, his squad conceded twice. For both goals, Germany's defenders were caught off-guard, first by Ferdi Kadioglu in the 38th minute and then by Kenan Yildiz right before the break. Yildiz, a former Bayern Munich academy player, was born in Germany but like plenty of others, opted to represent Turkey.

Germany have not been able to keep a clean sheet in their last nine games and the right-back position continues to be a headache, regardless of the coach and the players. Four minutes into the second half, Niclas Füllkrug levelled the match, scoring his 10th goal in 12 games with the national team.

Yet the pressure from the 'away' crowd did not let off after the goal. Salih Özcan's shot violently hit the post, perhaps as a warning of what was left to come. The Turkey supporters roared after Havertz handled the ball in the box. The video assistant referee intervened to award Turkey a penalty which Yusuf Sari scored in the 71st minute, ending Nagelsmann's short undefeated run as Germany coach.

Used to hostile atmosphere

"Of course an atmosphere like this can have an effect on you but we have plenty of experienced players who are used to playing games on a stage like this," said goalkeeper Kevin Trapp after the match. "We started the game well but the crowd rallied behind the Turkish squad. That's still not a good enough reason for us to stop playing like we did at the start."

Borussia Dortmund's Julian Brandt was also critical of the team's performance. "If we score twice, especially at home, we need to win that game. Even without taking the penalty into account, we made it too easy for them," he said.

But the midfielder did not believe the hostile crowd was a deciding factor. "It didn't affect me personally. I have played in many grounds where you feel like the away team but you just have to roll with it. I don't think that's the reason why we lost the game."

Unlike on Saturday night, Germany will enjoy the support of a majority of fans for as long as they last in Euro 2024. But Nagelsmann's squad still looks a long way from being considered among the favorites at the tournament.

Edited by: Matt Pearson