"It was a dark day," admitted Germany coach Joachim Low after his dreadful team crashed to a historic 6-0 defeat at the hands Spain back in November 2020. The humiliation could have been far worse had their opponents not been wasteful in front of goal.

It was arguably the lowest point of Low's coaching career.

The 60-year-old veteran, who took over from Jurgen Klinsmann in August 2006 and went on to guide Germany to World Cup glory in 2014, has been on a stunning downward spiral. Under his watch, Germany suffered an early exit at the group stage of the World Cup for the first time in 2018 and then put on a disastrous performance in the inaugural UEFA Nations League campaign.

The drubbing in Spain, which was Germany's heaviest loss in 89 years, was the last straw. 

Last month, the German Football Association announced that Low will step down following Euro 2020, bringing to an end one of football's longest national-team tenures.

German supporters, who have long questioned Low's capability to turn things around, heaved a collective sigh of relief after hearing the news, but unfortunately, they have to wait another few months until Low formally departs and the tactician managed to continue to plumb new depths.

On Wednesday night, Germany suffered their first home World Cup Qualifying loss in 20 years in an embarrassing 2-1 defeat to North Macedonia, who ranked 65th in the world.

Despite Germany's 70 percent possession in the first half, it was the visitors who broke the deadlock when 37-year-old Goran Pandev was left unmarked to slot home in first-half injury time. Captain Ilkay Gundogan's penalty had drawn Germany level but Eljif Elmas found the winner five minutes from time and compounded the four-time world champions' misery.

"The disappointment is huge," observed Low after the final whistle. "This is a set-back. There were a lot of mistakes and we didn't find a way to break down the deep-standing North Macedonians. We also let them counter-attack and had no grip on the game."

The Bild, Germany's highest circulation newspaper, pulled no punches after the shocking loss, headlining its coverage, "How embarrassing!" Kicker, Germany's leading sports magazine, was equally blunt, "Nasty Surprise!"

"The fact is, that shouldn't have been allowed to happen," added a crestfallen Gundogan. "It felt as though North Macedonia only got near our goal twice and scored twice, it was too easy. We have to get in top shape by the end of May and prepare for the (European championship) tournament." 

In June, Germany will take on World Cup winners France, who edged Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-0 in Sarajevo on Wednesday thanks to Antoine Griezmann's winner, and defending champions Portugal, who came from behind to beat Luxembourg 3-1 on Tuesday, in their EURO 2020 group.

Judging by their current form, few eyebrows will be raised if Low's team suffered another early exit.

Elsewhere, Manchester United skipper Harry Maguire struck a late winner for England as the 2018 World Cup semifinalists overcame Poland 2-1 at Wembley. The win means England top the group with nine points after comfortable victories earlier in the international window against San Marino and Albania.

Spain also moved to the top of group with a 3-1 home win over Kosovo, while Italy maintained their perfect start to qualifying with a hard-earned 2-0 victory over Lithuania.