Gary Neville and Roy Keane launched a vicious attack on Germany defender Jerome Boateng after his terrible performance in the first half of their World Cup group game against Sweden on Saturday night.

Boateng endured a troublesome first half as Sweden took the lead through Ola Toivonen and his night went from bad to worse as he was sent off in the second half for a second bookable offence before Toni Kroos spared his blushes with a last-minute winner.

Before his untimely red card and the eventual German victory, however, panic had begun to set in for the Boateng and his team-mates. ITV pundits Keane and Neville went for the jugular during their half-time analysis and had the defender firmly in their sights.

Jerome Boateng came under fire for his performance during Germany's clash with Sweden

The Bayern Munich defender was criticised for his questionable efforts by ITV pundits

'The two centre halves will give you a heart-attack,' Keane began. 'Boateng has got to come off. Boateng has been a disgrace.

'He's been walking around he's like it's a game of Sunday league football. He's been a disgrace, get him off.' And after calling for his substitution, Keane maintained his views at full-time, claiming: 'They were better off without him.'

Boateng was at fault for Sweden's opening goal as a lax pass was intercepted and quickly thrust forward to set the underdogs on their way, before Toivonen dinked the ball over the helpless Manuel Neuer.

He was also caught up in more controversy when he was adjudged by the Swedish players to have shoved Marcus Berg as he ran through on goal. The striker appeared to be forced off balance and saw his scuffed shot blocked away by Manuel Neuer.

Neville was equally damning when it came to the defender.

ITV pundit Roy Keane claimed Boateng was a disgrace during the first half on Saturday

Gary Neville joined the criticisms of the German claiming he was 'an absolute joke'

'Roy is absolutely right, the centre-backs have been a joke, an absolute joke,' Neville commented. 'Boateng thinks for some reason he is (Franz) Beckenbauer, thinks he's the player. He's played under Pep (Guardiola) and started to believe he is a fantastic football player.

'He has been a joke in this first half. He's got delusions, thinks he is a player; he's wandering forward, ambling in the game.'

He was later sent off for a late and rash challenge on Marcus Berg, which ironically saw the Germans improve almost immediately.

In the absence of Boateng, they pushed for a winner and got just that through Kroos' spectacular free-kick. That didn't stop the criticisms at full-time, however.

The German international was part of a tangle that could have resulted in a Sweden penalty

'The performance of the centre backs (was poor), the lack of understanding,' Neville added. 'I have never seen Germany look so naïve in games. But they got there.'

'He had a bad game,' fellow pundit Patrice Evra added. 'Sometimes you can see he plays like Beckenbauer, but tonight he had a really bad game. And actually when he was sent off, Germany played better.'

The result gives the Germans hope where it previously seemed there was none of reaching the last 16 as they look ahead to their final match against the group's bottom team South Korea. Win in Kazan and they will have completed a miraculous escape.

The concerns surrounding Low and his men remain though, and even if they do progress they are still far from the irresistible side that memorised its way to glory in Brazil four years ago.

'The Germans are not right, they are not right,' Neville added during the half-time analysis. 'The rumours before the game are proving to be true. Something is way wrong.'