Sane apologises as Nagelsmann delivers home truths after latest Germany defeat

22 November 2023 , 09:24

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Leroy Sane was sent off as Germany lost 2-0 to Austria (Image: Stefan Matzke - sampics/Corbis via Getty Images)

Leroy Sane has apologised to his teammates after he was sent off for shoving Austrla defender Phillipp Mwene as Germany were beaten for the second time in a week.

Sane was involved in a heated clash after fouling Mwene in Vienna. When the Austrian defender confronted Sane over the challenge, the Bayern Munich star reacted furiously and shoved Mwene in the face.

He was subsequently shown a straight red card and, with Germany already losing 1-0 thanks to a goal from Marcel Sabitzer, Julian Nagelsmann's side were unable to recover and Christoph Baumgartner sealed a memorable win for Austria with a chip over goalkeeper Kevin Trapp.

Following the defeat, which followed on from a 3-2 loss to Turkey, Sane issued an apology for his actions, telling Sport1: "The game is on me, that can't happen to me. No blame to the boys, no blame to my opponent. I was frustrated with my own performance – today, but also against Turkey."

He also apologised on social media, writing: "An evening to forget in Vienna. I apologized to my teammates in the dressing room for the action. Despite all my emotion and ambition, this can't happen to me, especially in our current situation. A big sorry to our fans too. We have a lot of work ahead of us to make 2024 a successful year for us."

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Germany qualified automatically for next year's European Championships as they are hosting the tournament, but Nagelsmann has a tough job on his hands having only taken over as manager in September after a run of poor results saw Hansi Flick sacked.

Nagelsmann has taken charge of four friendly games so far, starting with a 3-1 win over America in October. However, that was followed by a 2-2 draw with Mexico four days later and Germany have now lost both of their games during the current international break, suffering a 3-2 defeat at home to Turkey before losing 2-0 to Austria.

Sane was dismissed as Germany lost to Austria (Getty Images)

And Nagelsmann knows just how difficult it will be to turn things around, admitting after the Austria game: "We have a lot of work to do. Now, it's about accepting the situation. We have to accept there's simply an incredible amount of work ahead of us — in all positions.

"The coaches have to accept that, the players have to accept it, too. I don't think it's because they don't realize (what is at stake). We are not playing with freedom. We are a unit in training, but when the game kicks off, there are lone fighters on the pitch.

"If you look at the national team in terms of its talent, in terms of the players that are available, then it is a team that has a great ability to play football. To bring this quality to the pitch, we have to develop a lot more dynamism."

Matthew Cooper