Bellamy missed the final two days of training and pulled out of the game but the concern for his week-old child's health touched everyone.

Gabbidon said: "Obviously Craig is one of our better players and he is the captain so we were bound to miss him. We would have loved to have had him on the pitch because he is a hard player to handle.

"When he pulled out it was a blow but you just have to get on with that sort of thing, but it definitely went against us.

"His little daughter is ill and that put everything in perspective. I did not want to take the captaincy in such circumstances and we are all hoping his little girl is okay and that Craig will be back, maybe for the next game.

"It is understandable why he did not want to play and the main thing is that his daughter is better soon."

Wales were forced into positional and personnel changes at the last moment - not the best way to confront the World Cup's third-placed country.

West Ham defender Gabbidon added: "It is a learning curve for all the younger players in the team and they have learned that making mistakes against top strikers means you will be punished.

"You cannot get away with things at international level so it is another lesson for us and we will have to learn from our mistakes for the next game on Wednesday.

"I thought we worked hard and we tried, but we did not pose a threat in the first half and we then gave the ball away for their first goal.

"In the second half I thought we looked a bit livelier and got a few more crosses in to pose a few more questions, but overall we could have performed better.

"Concentration-wise it was not the best and we got what we deserved from the game. If you do not concentrate for 90 minutes you will be punished and that is what happened.

"But it is very hard when you have a lot of young players in the team and you come up against a top side like Germany. Hopefully everyone will have learned something from the game and we have to get over what has happened very quickly.

Gabbidon said: "Germany are a good team and they showed it, although we gave them a couple of goals and you cannot afford to do that against top quality sides."

The defeat was an eye-opener for many of Wales' raw recruits, including striker Freddy Eastwood, winning only his second cap.

The Wolves striker said: "Germany gave us a footballing lesson which we must take on board.

"But we are still growing into a team while they are already the complete package, people must remember that."

Derby striker Robert Earnshaw, who came on after the break to produce greater attacking options, worked hard to prove a point to boss John Toshack.

Earnshaw said: "I would have loved to have been on from the start, but it is up to me to go out and score goals when I am given the chance.

"We just did not test them but I thought we improved after the break. I am not sure if we gave them too much respect, but we just didn't get into them.

"We started badly by conceding an early goal and then it is a tough task against a side as good as Germany."

Defender Sam Ricketts agreed, saying: "The start we had with that early goal against us was a real kick in the teeth. It meant we were chasing the game, and that is tough against a side like that."