Jonathan Tah has come under fire from German media following his disappointing performance in Germany's 1-2 Nations League semifinal defeat to Portugal. The 29-year-old defender, who recently secured a four-year deal with "Bayern Munich", failed to fill the void left by injured Antonio Rüdiger.
"The defense looked unstable without the injured Rüdiger. Tah, who is expected to become the defensive leader at Bayern Munich, couldn't cover Rüdiger's absence," reported Bild after the match in Munich.
Tah's move to Bayern comes after a successful period at "Bayer Leverkusen", where he helped the club dethrone Bayern to win the Bundesliga in 2024. Despite being linked with "Barcelona" and "Real Madrid", the German international ultimately chose to join the Bavarian giants.
Former German captain Michael Ballack didn't hold back in his assessment of the team's defensive struggles. Speaking to DAZN, he emphasized that the absences of Jamal Musiala, Nico Schlotterbeck, and especially Antonio Rüdiger were a significant burden for the national team.
"At the back, with Rüdiger and Schlotterbeck out, we don't have enough stability. We need quality there. We were looking for the ball and can be happy it wasn't worse," Ballack stated.
Interestingly, former World Cup winner Jerome Boateng took a more sarcastic approach to the situation. The 36-year-old, currently playing for Austrian club Linz, posted on Instagram: "Without Rüdiger better, right?" accompanied by a smiling emoji with a finger in front of the mouth.
Bild particularly highlighted that Tah failed to step up as a "true leader" in Rüdiger's absence. "Tah was supposed to play this role, but didn't have a good day in his first match after announcing his transfer to Bayern," the publication concluded.
Tah officially committed to Bayern Munich just last week, expressing his desire to "win many titles" with the club. But after this performance, will he be able to live up to the expectations at Germany's most successful club? The pressure is certainly mounting for the defender who still has plenty to prove on the international stage.
