Germany’s shaky September has left us with more questions than answers. Sunday’s 3-1 win over Northern Ireland offered a salve after Thursday’s shock 2-0 defeat to Slovakia as the world footballing giants have gone from talking World Cup title to realizing they have a qualification battle on their hands.

As the clock ticks down towards next summer’s Men’s World Cup, the whole is looking very questionable, much less the sum of the parts.

But how are the parts doing? In the wake of high-profile absences such as Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala and Arsenal’s Kai Havertz, there was ample opportunity for other squad players to assert themselves — or not. Here’s who made the most of the opportunities.

GK Oliver Baumann (TSG Hoffenheim): The 35-year-old looks the unquestioned starter in the absence of Manuel Neuer and the currently jobless Marc-André ter Stegen. He’s growing into the role and is a sharp, veteran shot-stopper. Look, at this point, Neuer is probably salivating to make his return and will get to do it. But Baumann’s earned his keep.

CB Robin Koch (Eintracht Frankfurt): A versatile defender not named Thilo Kehrer, Koch has stuck around the national team setup without ever really making his mark. The 29-year-old is a reliable starter at what looks like a leading Bundesliga contender in Eintracht Frankfurt, and was solid if unspectacular in his start vs. Northern Ireland. Expect him to stick around.

CM Joshua Kimmich (FC Bayern): As central as ever. Kimmich’s return to midfield is still raising this author’s eyebrows and he did not look as influential against Slovakia as he has been even from right-back in the recent past. However, he’s still Germany’s metronome in midfield and provides a deadly chipped ball over the top. Also, he’s the man for free kick pep talks.

AM Nadiem Amiri (Mainz 05): Amiri injected life into the German attack when it desperately needed it, coming off the bench in both games and making the difference in the second. Amiri drew two yellow cards in a matter of minutes, pounced in the box with the goal to break the deadlock, and earned the foul to set up Florian Wirtz’s magical free kick. That’s the kind of energy you don’t want to let go of. The attack is crowded, but Amiri took a big step to cementing his place in it.

FW Serge Gnabry (FC Bayern): Gnabry has quietly had a strong start to the season for both club and country. The Slovakia game wasn’t one of his best but his early goal against Northern Ireland was vintage Gnabry and a cold, collected finish. Could he end up in the mix at the 9?

FW Jamie Leweling (VfB Stuttgart): Leweling was relied on in the second match for 90 minutes to hold down the right side. To this author’s eye, he was less dynamic there than he was when he first broke into the national team and had more time in and around the box. But Nagelsmann — and most others in the game thread — seemed to really rate his performance on the wing.

AM Florian Wirtz (Liverpool): Wirtz was the most consistently energetic and active attacker across the two games. It seems like he could use some more help around him — he can’t provide if the runs aren’t right or if the shots don’t come off from them — but he also showed with that free kick that he can take matters into his own hands.

CF Maximilian Beier (Borussia Dortmund): How about that? Beier has been off the radar for a little while, including at BVB, where he had a somewhat forgettable 2024/25. But he was a problem once he got on the field. His excellent run to draw the keeper out helped Amiri snatch his goal. Dortmund turned down a big offer for him this summer and it looks like the suitors will keep lining up.

RB Nnamdi Collins (Eintracht Frankfurt): The 21-year-old was handed a surprise start against Slovakia before being hauled off at half-time. Julian Nagelsmann took responsibility and his Frankfurt coach defended him as well. And he’s the closest thing to a right-back on this roster (well…). But, the formation that allowed him in may have just been written out of the picture and the way he was employed did not look right.

CM Robert Andrich (Bayer Leverkusen): Just a summer ago, Andrich was a revelation for Germany, the gritty defensive midfielder needed to tie everything together. Now he’s stuck on the bench. Andrich did not make an appearance across two games.

CB Waldemar Anton (Borussia Dortmund): Anton did appear, but it didn’t look all that convincing. Coming in for Jonathan Tah against Northern Ireland, the BVB defender didn’t have any nightmares but looked none too steady in the center of defense, and no stranger himself to random giveaways. Perhaps that’s a system issue? Anton was also very lucky not to give away a penalty in the first half.

CBs Antonio Rüdiger, Jonathan Tah: Germany’s starting pair play for Real Madrid and Bayern Munich but looked awfully off it. Rüdiger earned himself yellow cards in consecutive games while looking like any energetic attacker can get past him and Tah inspired little confidence in his ability to command a defensive line. Yikes! Germany could be in real trouble at this position..

CM Angelo Stiller (VfB Stuttgart): Stiller was a big name in the transfer window and a big hope for the German midfield. He looked lost and was overrun against Slovakia, and was replaced for the second match. There’s plenty of time for the 24-year-old to bounce back but this was a rough September period for him.

FW Karim Adeyemi (Borussia Dortmund): Adeyemi is still young at 23, but he has now been on the national team for quite a while without quite landing. He has shown flashes but did little against Slovakia of note, and didn’t appear in the next one. As noted, the attack is crowded, and Adeyemi will need to make his mark at club level to stick around.

CF Niclas Füllkrug (West Ham): Füllkrug had to withdraw from the period. He missed huge chunks of last season, his first in the Premier League, and has yet to score in three games this year for West Ham. He has to show he still has that magic scoring touch.

CF Nick Woltemade (Newcastle United): Germany’s big new hope at striker and Newcastle’s new €90M man turned up with two very anonymous starts. He had a nice flick on to create a chance against Slovakia but, largely, looked a few ticks short of dangerous in the box, sometimes failing to find his feet right to get a shot away. He’s likely to get more starts next month, and will be hoping to make much better of them.

HC Julian Nagelsmann: Yeah, that was deflating. After all the buzz and the talk, Germany simply showed up flat. Nagelsmann tweaked for the first game, then had to tweak some more in the second — and for a while, it looked like a real crisis. The Germany we thought we knew finally turned up late in the second half, but the aura from last summer is gone and will need to be rebuilt.

Verdict: Wake me up when September ends.

Backup GKs: Finn Dahmen / Alexander Nübel. Neither the Augsburg man nor the perpetual Bayern loanee appeared. Not a great sign for Nübel, but overall, verdict unknown.

LB Maximilian Mittelstädt (VfB Stuttgart): Mittelstädt was a revelation at Germany’s long-shaky left-back position but he can’t seem to own the spot. A move to the back three would likely not improve his chances. He had a fairly solid game against Slovakia, having to play both flanks. His trademark of getting to the byline and floating a cross ten thousand feet into the air…well, that is perhaps not the most convincing of Germany’s tactics.

LB David Raum (RB Leipzig): Raum hasn’t grabbed hold of the left-back spot either. The Leipzig man whipped in a terrific cross against Northern Ireland to set up the second goal but will need to be a lot more consistent to inspire confidence.

CM Leon Goretzka (FC Bayern): It’s a comeback story that Goretzka is in the fold at all after missing out on EURO 2024 and battling just to get on the field at Bayern. It’s a good sign that Nagelsmann is deploying him, and in a variety of roles too. He didn’t make a great impact but should get more chances.

CM Pascal Groß (Borussia Dortmund): The 34-year-old put in a solid if unspectacular shift against Northern Ireland, which seems to show he at least still figures in Nagelsmann’s plans — while the same could not be said, based on the evidence of these two games, about potential midfield partner Andrich.

FW Paul Nebel (Mainz 05): The 22-year-old winger did not appear. He gets a pass this time — it was his first national team call-up and it’s hard to ding him for not having a chance to debut at all given the nature of the games and the seniority of the players ahead of him. Surely, though, he is on the bubble at this time.

Wow…Germany was on the ropes vs. Northern Ireland, but a strong second half effort helped Julian Nagelsmann’s team pull away for a 3-1 victory.

It was ugly at times and desperate at others, but this was somehow a must win match for a squad that was absolutely reeling after getting stomped out by Slovakia earlier in the week. The Germans absolutely needed this victory and it could have been disastrous had things not turned around in the latter stages of the game.

Let’s get into it. This is what we have on tap for this edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show:

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