Loss to Netherlands is like punch in stomach, says Timo Werner

Germany's Timo Werner (right) is frustrated after missing a scoring chance against The Netherlands on Saturday. Pic/Getty Images

Germany striker Timo Werner admits it was a punch in the stomach to allow Holland to score after the visitors had dominated the UEFA Nations League match in Amsterdam. Despite enjoying the better of the opening half-hour, Virgil van Dijk's close-range header after Ryan Babel's effort had come back off the crossbar paved the way for a record-breaking 3-0 Dutch win.

Late second-half goals from Memphis Depay and Georginio Wijnaldum registered Holland's biggest win over their neighbours and a first in a competitive match since 1992. It also meant Germany have gone three competitive matches without scoring for the first time in their history and are winless after two Nations League matches.

"We played well at the beginning, created many chances, let them run without the ball and did everything we wanted to," said Werner. "Then there is this corner which hits the bar and is then turned in. That was a punch in our stomach. We missed out on scoring when we had the chances to do so. That's our biggest shortcoming."

Manager Joachim Low, who surpassed Sepp Herberger to set a new record in his 168th game in charge of the national team, admits confidence is a problem after six defeats in 10 matches.

"It's not only about converting the chances. We played OK until we conceded and did not use our chances," he said. "After conceding, you could see that recent results have led to a lack of confidence. Why are we not scoring? That's difficult to answer, we have clear chances."

Three
No. of matches Germany have gone without scoring for the first time in their history

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