Germany must 'start from scratch' after relegation
Germany's UEFA Nations League relegation has been met with frustration and disappointment.
It's safe to say that 2018 has been an underwhelming year for the German national team.
At the World Cup in Russia, 'Die Mannschaft' crashed out at the group-stages for the first time ever.
And on Friday, Joachim Löw's troops was relegated from League A of the UEFA Nations League as the Netherlands beat France 2-0 - a very unfamiliar feeling for most of the German internationals.
"I have just been told that no one in our team has ever been relegated except Jonas Hector. Of course, that doesn't feel good," Bayern München midfielder Leon Goretzka told DW.
Germany general manager Oliver Bierhoff admits he went "frustrated and annoyed" to bed after the relegation was cemented, but also makes it clear that it's "certainly not the end of the world".
"We're starting from scratch, and maybe the relegation makes us more aware that we're going to qualify for next year's European Championship," he told Kicker.
At Saturday's training session, Germany coach Joachim Löw held an eight-minute speech in front of his players and staff in which he underlined that the game against the Netherlands on Monday is important despite the relegation.
"We want to end a disappointing year by saying goodbye to our fans in Gelsenkirchen with a good game on Monday," Löw told Kicker.
Bierhoff agrees - a win on Monday is essential:
"Firstly, it's a prestigious duel. Secondly, we want to push our development forward. And thirdly, we want to create a good starting point for the draw for the European Championship qualification," he said.