Joachim Low says the golden chances missed by Marco Reus during Germany's 2-1 win over Georgia highlight what is going wrong for the world champions.
Having seen his team spurn numerous opportunities to score during Thursday's 1-0 loss to the Republic of Ireland, getting the point they required to reach Euro 2016 proved to be a real struggle against Georgia on Sunday.
Thomas Muller's penalty and substitute Max Kruse's strike eventually did the job in Leipzig, but the home side were reliant on a number of fine saves from Manuel Neuer in a tense contest and had to wait until the 79th minute for a winner after they had failed to convert any of their 18 shots in the first half.
Borussia Dortmund star Reus was the worst culprit in front of goal, missing the target with two clear one-on-one chances and having five other efforts saved, with Low saying his misses sum up where his players need to improve.
"Marco is usually an excellent player, who will not miss such opportunities," said Low.
"He has a lot of quality, but he has not taken two or three big chances. Again in this game we have not taken the variety of opportunities we created.
"We are like a boxer at the moment. We are landing punches but they are not knocking the opponent out."
Despite topping the group, Low says Germany have significant work to do if they are to match their performances from last year's World Cup when they arrive at Euro 2016.
He continued: "It will take some hard work to get back to the level of performances at the World Cup, but there is a long way to go until the finals and we know that the long period of preparation will do us a lot of good.
"We are unable to surprise the opponents when they are set in defence, so tactically there are a few things we need to consider. Our style of play will remain mostly the same, but there are some details that need adjusting.
"It is not our style to send long balls into the box, it would be better to approach the opponents' goal with combinations. But in France we will meet teams will attack us, not like some of the defensive teams we have met recently."
