Erik Meijer warns Germany lack leaders and a true striker

Met Germany the Dutch side face a national team that many see as slipping into decline. Former PSV, Liverpool, Hamburger SV and Bayer Leverkusen forward Erik Meijer, now a analyst, argues the side suffers from a lack of on‑field leadership and no genuine centre‑forward. He makes the case ahead of Thursday’s Nations League clash in Amsterdam.

World Cup decline and Paraguay loss

After lifting the World Cup in 2014, Die Mannschaft have been knocked out in the group stage of the next two tournaments. In the most recent edition, a modest Paraguay side proved too strong in the round of 16, ending Germany’s hopes early. These setbacks underline a broader erosion of the team’s pedigree.

Erik Meijer on missing leaders

Meijer does not need time to answer the question of why Germany falters. “It has been years since we have had a real leader, on the pitch and beside it,” he says. The 57‑year‑old, who spent ten years in the Bundesliga, brings experience from clubs such as PSV, Liverpool, Hamburger SV and Bayer Leverkusen.

He adds that responsibility is no longer taken seriously. “We accept a mistake now, whereas before a player would be shouted at or even hit. Today everything has to be solved in a very business‑like way, which feels wrong.”

Frank Wormuth on hierarchy and DFB issues

Former Heracles Almelo and FC Groningen coach Frank Wormuth echoes the sentiment, noting a loss of hierarchy. “Matthias Sammer and Lothar Matthäus were players who could dictate what happened. Now everyone has an opinion and the old order is gone.”

Meijer’s critique of Germany’s decline ahead of Nations League duel

Wormuth describes the modern game as “football according to humanism”, where players choose what they want rather than what they must do. He also points out that German clubs in the first and second Bundesliga must run their own training institutes, a requirement that often strains resources.

He criticises the way young players are handled in those academies, where football is combined with compulsory schooling that sometimes needs three teachers to assist. Wormuth wonders how such a system can produce players capable of solving on‑field situations.

Wormuth also blames former national coach Joachim Löw for abandoning Germany’s traditional defensive duelling after 2014, attempting to copy Spain’s tiki‑taka style without the accompanying mentality.

Meijer sees the problem as embedded in the German Football Association itself. He says the DFB wants to change football from the grassroots up, but the current youth format, with multiple goals per field and no emphasis on winning, will not rescue the national side in the long term.

Arsenal's Havertz forced off early as Germany fall to Netherlands

At the senior level, Meijer highlights the absence of a quality striker since Miroslav Klose. He mentions Jonathan Burkardt of Eintracht Frankfurt and Niclas Füllkrug of Werder Bremen as decent at their clubs, but not the top‑class number nine Germany needs.

Wormuth adds a nostalgic note, recalling a German “golden rule” where attackers win matches and defenders win tournaments. He suggests that under Jürgen Klopp this balance might finally be restored.

The Nations League encounter between the Netherlands and Germany kicks off on Thursday at 20.45 in Amsterdam and will be streamed live.