Dietmar Hamann worries it is "too late" for this Germany team as he called again for coach Hansi Flick to be sacked following Tuesday's defeat to Belgium.
Hamann was a vocal critic of Flick following the 2022 World Cup, where Germany exited at the group stage for the second consecutive finals.
Former midfielder Hamann wanted the coach to go then, and his stance was not softened by the March internationals.
With Germany hosting Euro 2024 and therefore absent from the qualification process, they played friendlies against Peru and Belgium.
A 2-0 win over Peru in Mainz was followed by a 3-2 defeat to Belgium in Cologne, in which Hamann suggested "it could have been 0-3, 0-4 or 1-5 in the first half".
Speaking to Sky Sport, the pundit said: "Nothing has changed at all.
"The team that started yesterday included eight World Cup players. [Florian] Wirtz and [Timo] Werner were also in the starting line-up, who were not there in Qatar due to injury.
"Marius Wolf was the only one who played against Belgium who wasn't at the World Cup. He did an excellent job in Dortmund in the last few weeks and months.
"So, it felt like there were 10 World Cup players in the line-up, and then I can't speak of a change.
"If [Flick] had let youngsters play and they had gotten under the wheels in the first half, then I would have understood because they would have learned something from it.
"But the way it was yesterday, that they play with the same players and we get served the same c*** as at the World Cup, sooner or later people will turn their backs on the national team."
Hamann felt that performance backed up his argument following a World Cup exit he had described as "pathetic".
"It's too late for me," he said. "I spoke after the World Cup, where it was clear to me that it's difficult to continue working with the coach when you're eliminated from the group for the second time in a row.
"I couldn't imagine it because you need a new impetus.
"They hid in Qatar, they let the team down, they didn't take responsibility. And if the coach doesn't take responsibility, then I can't expect the players to take responsibility.
"That's why I don't think the discussion [around Flick's future] comes too early. It's too late, for me, and they decided to continue with it.
"I have big, big concerns about whether things will get better in the coming weeks, months and then at the European Championships next year."
Edwards urges Luton Town to ignore scrutiny on relegation battle
Rob Edwards is keen for Luton Town to ignore the scrutiny surrounding them in the relegation battle as they prepare for another big game against Wolves.
The Hatters sit one point from safety in the relegation zone after back-to-back 5-1 defeats against Manchester City and Brentford.
While Nottingham Forest also lost last weekend, being beaten 2-0 by Everton, Burnley beat Sheffield United to move them two points behind Luton.
Asked how he is handling the pressure of the relegation battle with only four games left, Edwards said: “The stakes are high already, we all know what it means and it's really important to everyone that's in this at the moment, a number of clubs that are still fighting to try and avoid it and be in the league next season, it's so important.
“Everyone wants to try and stoke the fire I think. We've got a title race on at one end and obviously, there's a relegation battle we're involved in. It's exciting, it's good that we're in the fight, and we've got a chance to get out of it, but really, all I am concerned about right now is our performance tomorrow.”
Glasner challenges Crystal Palace to extend winning run
Oliver Glasner is hopeful that Crystal Palace can maintain their recent winning run when they travel to Fulham on Saturday.
After a run of five games without a victory, the Eagles have won each of their last three games, beating Liverpool, West Ham and Newcastle United.
Their 2-0 win over the Magpies on Wednesday also secured their Premier League safety for another season.
Glasner has given credit to his team’s attitude in turning around their recent run of form but does not want them to slow down despite reaching their goal.
He said: “The players give us confidence because they are listening. Every day we were sitting here and having a meeting and showing them videos and nobody was sleeping, so that gives us good feedback!
"Now we have 39 points and I think it shouldn't be our target to say ‘39 points, oh well done, staying in the Premier League’ because then I would say 'come on guys, go wherever you want and take vacations' – but no.
"We want to improve, we want to win games, and we have the next chance tomorrow at Fulham."
Columbus Crew v CF Montreal: Nancy proud of resilient Champions Cup performance
Wilfried Nancy was delighted with the spirit and grit his Columbus Crew team displayed as they sealed a 2-1 CONCACAF Champions Cup win over CF Monterrey.
The Crew are in a great position to progress to the Champions Cup final after their first-leg win in midweek.
Now, Nancy will turn his focus to a league clash with his former club CF Montreal, but he stressed his pride with his team for their performance against Monterrey.
“I'm really proud of the guys,” said Nancy.
“Because we did a really good game in terms of when we had the difficult moments, we were together. And when we had the ball, we tried to play our game and we had good opportunities also, and we were able to unbalance them.
“We try to convince [the squad] that when we play high-level sport, it's a game of mistakes.
The idea is no matter what happened, can we find a way to bounce back? So we work on that during the practice, but at the end of the day, you have to live this situation. And I think that we've worked upon in the past. So now they’ve been better and the chemistry is better. And they were able to sort it out.”
The Crew are the reigning MLS Cup champions, though they have drawn their last three league fixtures.
While Columbus sit fourth in the Eastern Conference, Montreal are three points back in 10th place.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Columbus Crew – Cucho Hernandez
Hernandez scored his 34th MLS goal (including playoffs) in the Crew’s draw on Saturday. Only the Philadelphia Union’s Daniel Gazdag (36) has more goals than Hernández since he made his MLS debut in July 2022.
CF Montreal – Ariel Lassiter
Lassiter put CF Montreal ahead against Orlando on Saturday with an 88th-minute goal, only to see the Lions equalize in stoppage time. It marked just the second time in club history that Montreal scored a go-ahead goal after the 75th minute but failed to win the match, also doing so against the Fire in 2017.
MATCH PREDICTION: COLUMBUS WIN
Montreal have lost 17 of their 25 away matches in all competitions (W5 D3) dating back to the start of last season, being outscored, 56-21, in those games.
Columbus are unbeaten in 17 straight regular-season home matches (W12 D5) following a pair of draws with D.C. United and the Portland Timbers. The only longer run in club history was a 22-match streak in 2008—09.
Columbus won both of their matches against Montreal last season after winning just two of the previous eight (D2 L4). Montreal (2-1 in August 2022) are one of two visiting teams to record a win at Lower.com Field since June 2022.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Columbus Crew – 56.4%
CF Montreal – 18.6%
Draw – 25%
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