Where are they now? The Germany side that lost 5-1 to England
By Tom Gott
Germany's run of 20 years without losing a World Cup qualifier came to an abrupt end as they were stunned 2-1 by minnows North Macedonia.
The last time they lost at that stage? Well, that just so happened to be when England rocked up to Munich and roared to a dominant 5-1 victory courtesy of a hat-trick from Michael Owen and goals from Steven Gerrard and Emile Heskey in September 2001.
Let's see where that Germany side are these days.
Goalkeeper
Oliver Kahn
Touted as the best goalkeeper in the world at the time, this game was a horror show for Bayern Munich legend Kahn, who made mistake after mistake after mistake to gift England one of the most routine victories in their history.
Fortunately, it was only a blip in an otherwise illustrious career. Kahn spent seven more years as Bayern's number one, winning four of his eight Bundesliga titles after this game, before hanging his boots up in 2008.
Immediately after retirement, Kahn became a pundit on German TV, but he returned to football by joining Bayern's board in 2020. He is set to replace Karl-Heinz Rummenigge as CEO in 2022.
Defenders
Christian Worns
Nine years deep into his international career at the time, Borussia Dortmund hero Worns was sacrificed at half-time of this one in a failed attempt to give Germany some much-needed momentum.
He retired with Dortmund in 2008 and has since turned his focus on youth management. Worst has spent time with the likes of Schalke and Augsburg and is currently in charge on the Germany Under-19 side.
Jens Nowotny
Worns' partner-in-crime earlier in their career with Bayer Leverkusen, a 32-year-old Nowotny joined Dinamo Zagreb in July 2006. Tragically, he had to retire just six months later after picking up a knee injury just ten games into his Dinamo career.
Nowotny, who holds the record for most red cards in Bundesliga history with eight, became an agent after retiring.
Thomas Linke
A core part of Bayern's success between 1998 and 2005, Linke actually retired from international duty 18 months after losing to England, only to be lured back to the pitch two years later for a one-night-only cameo.
Since hanging up his boots, Linke has been in the boardroom of a handful of sides. He was RB Leipzig's sporting director for a few months in 2011, but he enjoyed a few years of success at the helm of Ingolstadt.
Midfielders
Marko Rehmer
A solid, unspectacular right-back, Rehmer is best known for his time with Hertha between 1999 and 2005, where the injury problems that would ultimately end his career in 2007 first began to surface.
Like Nowotny, Rehmer became an agent after his playing days were over, and he has also been running camps for young players in Berlin.
Michael Ballack
This guy was pretty alright.
Just hitting his peak in 2001, Ballack bounced back with three Bundesliga titles with Bayern and the 2009/10 Premier League title with Chelsea, before retiring with Leverkusen in 2012.
Now more of a TV presence, Ballack is preparing himself for a return to football and is studying for his UEFA B License.
Dietmar Hamann
Growing into a household name at Liverpool at the time was Hamann, who spent time on the books at Bolton, Manchester City and MK Dons before bringing his career to an end in 2011.
The former midfielder had a short-lived spell as manager of Stockport County in 2011, but after that didn't work out, his public appearances have tended to come as a TV pundit.
Jorg Bohme
Bohme had just two caps to his name when England came to town, and he would only manage seven more after before the calls stopped coming.
The dynamic left-back retired in 2008 and has since stayed in coaching, dipping in and out of youth football. Currently, Bohme is in charge of Zwickau's Under-19 side.
Sebastian Deisler
Operating in the number ten role that day was Deisler, whose career at the highest level ended before it even began.
He made the move to Bayern in 2002 but managed 90 appearances for the club over nearly five years, as injuries and mental health problems took a severe toll on Deisler's confidence and led to his retirement in 2007.
Sebastian Kehl
Another of those to have made just two appearances before this, second-half substitute Kehl went on to enjoy a little longer in the Germany setup, ending his career with 32 caps.
At club level, a move to Dortmund in 2002 would end up defining Kehl's career. He spent 13 years with BVB, and after a three-year break, he returned to the club as their head of first-team football in 2018.
Forwards
Carsten Jancker
It was Jancker who opened the scoring after just six minutes with a clever finish. The striker was enjoying the best period of his career with Bayern at the time, winning his fourth Bundesliga title in 2001, before having spells in Italy, China and back in Germany.
After retiring in 2010, he immediately became a youth coach in Austria, with his last position coming with Marchfeld Donauauen.
Oliver Neuville
A few years into his most-famous stint with Leverkusen at the time, Neuville soon went on to spend six years with Borussia Monchengladbach, before calling it quits in 2010 at the age of 37.
Neuville moved into coaching as well, initially starting off with Gladbach's Under-19 setup, and he is now an assistant to first-team boss Marco Rose.
Gerald Asamoah
Thrown on at half-time in an attempt to turn things around, Asamoah was on the pitch as Germany shipped three unanswered goals. Yikes.
The first African-born player to ever represent Germany, Asamoah spent almost his entire playing career with Schalke, and he remains tied to the club to this day. He's had spells as a marketing chief and youth-team manager, and he was even temporarily promoted to the first team in 2019. Nowadays, he's the 'coordinator of first-team football'.
Miroslav Klose
You've probably heard of this guy.
In 2001, Klose was blossoming into the goalscoring machine we would all grow to know and love. He was at Kaiserslautern at the time but earned himself a move to Werder Bremen in 2004, after which he enjoyed successful spells with Bayern and Lazio.
After retiring in 2016, Klose also turned to management. He cut his teeth as an assistant with the German national team before returning to Bayern, where he currently works as an assistant to the first team.