By Ciarán Fahey
Two defeats and last place in a mini-tournament it expected to win have dealt Germany a cold dose of reality ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
The Nations League final four in Germany was supposed to show Julian Nagelsmann’s team can count itself among Europe’s best, but a 2-1 loss to Portugal in Munich followed by a 2-0 defeat to France in Stuttgart instead revealed a gulf in class.
It showed that tournament-winner Portugal, beaten finalist Spain – the European champion – and a talent-packed France team are among the favorites with defending champion Argentina to win soccer’s biggest prize next year.
Nagelsmann was keen to highlight the positives, noting that Germany dominated and created a host of chances in the first half against France on Sunday – but counterpart Didier Deschamps had already said what little importance he gave the third-place decider, and it was clear which side was more motivated in front
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