Wales 0 Germany 2:Looking crestfallen and shell-shocked, John Toshack pondered for a moment before delivering an assessment that was every bit as bleak as the listless 90 minutes he had just presided over. "I know people always say you have got a chance until the referee blows his final whistle," said the Wales manager. "But I have got to be honest and maybe I shouldn't say this, I couldn't really see us getting back into the game at all."
This was a Wales display so abject that Toshack could have been forgiven for waking up yesterday morning and tendering his resignation. He calls the shots but it is difficult to hold the manager accountable for the glaring individual errors that gifted Germany both goals as Wales meekly surrendered.
Jason Koumas was the most culpable, with the midfielder's contribution summed up by the lack of concentration that allowed Thomas Hitzlsperger to pick his pocket in the lead-up to the first goal and the petulance he showed midway through the second half when he headed straight for the tunnel after being substituted.
Germany were clear favourites but Wales fans were entitled to believe Toshack's players would at least match the work-rate of their opponents. That was not the case, though, as Wales played as if the loss of Craig Bellamy - who pulled out on the eve of the match after his newly-born daughter was readmitted to hospital - provided enough reason to relinquish all hope of a shock result.
The one crumb of comfort for Toshack was that Germany, almost assured of their place in next summer's finals after taking 22 from a possible 24 points, only scored twice despite dominating the match throughout. They settled for two Miroslav Klose goals, the first steered adroitly past Wayne Hennessey following Koumas's faux pas and the second nodded in after Gareth Bale was caught in possession.
At the opposite end Jens Lehmann was almost a spectator, Freddy Eastwood toiling alone up front on his home debut and faring no better after Robert Earnshaw was introduced at half-time. Service to either player was in short supply as Bastian Schweinsteiger and Hitzlsperger enjoyed a game of keep-ball.
"We had problems in the centre of midfield that we didn't get to grips with at all," added Toshack. "It was almost as if the rain kept coming in." The forecast is the same for Wales's Euro 2008 qualifying campaign."
WALES: Hennessey, Ricketts, Gabbidon, James Collins, Nyatanga, Ledley (Earnshaw 46), Bale, Koumas (Fletcher 67), Robinson, Davies (Crofts 79), Eastwood. Subs not used: Price, Morgan, Llewellyn, Jones. Booked: Gabbidon, James Collins.
GERMANY: Lehmann, Arne Friedrich, Mertesacker, Metzelder, Pander (Trochowski 46), Hilbert, Hitzlsperger, Schweinsteiger, Jansen, Kuranyi (Podolski 72), Klose (Helmes 87). Subs not used: Hildebrand, Odonkor, Manuel Friedrich, Rolfes.
Referee: M E M Gonzalez (Spain).
