World Cup: “The end of a great football nation”, German press disappointed after relegation

In the end, it’s not Germany that wins. In any case, not always and not for some time, to tell the truth. The 2014 World Champions Germany, the unfortunate semi-finalists of Euro 2016 on the move, once again dropped out of the World Cup in the group stage despite a 4-2 victory over Costa Rica, and have continued to fall behind internationally since 2018. What the sports magazine did not fail to note kicker : “The rout is perfect: for the third time in a row, Germany left a major tournament ahead of schedule on Thursday night,” writes journalist Matthias Dersch, referring to the elimination in the group stage in Russia and in the 1/8 finals against England at Euro 2021.

The German press is, of course, unkind to its defenders. “German football must stop lying to itself,” writes journalist Julien Wolff in a witty editorial for Die Welt. “With all due respect to the opponents: to be eliminated from a group consisting of Spain, Japan and Costa Rica is a shame.” For very serious Zeit“Germany had plans, but no plan.” For Sport Bild, the leading sports media across the Rhine, this elimination simply sounds like “the end of a great footballing nation”. “A four-time world champion, a three-time European champion is a thing of the past!” writes Matthias Brügelmann in his editorial. Germany, football dwarf! »

On the main pages of German news sites, pictures of players from Manshaft troubles follow one after another. “Those scenes really hurt,” Bild comments. But also those of this ball for the second goal of the Japanese. Did he cross the line? The evening’s script makes the screenings even more bitter. “The whole of Germany is talking about THIS goal,” Bild still assures, the image of the Japanese ball supports. It was an “absurd evening”, comments Zeit, for Germany, which “won but still lost”. The most realistic analysis ultimately comes from kicker : With Japan’s victory, “only 10-2 would have helped.” Unattainable for this Germany. From my side, Suddeutsche Zeitung evokes a beautiful irony: Doan and Ao Tanaka, two Japanese strikers, are playing… in Germany.

And now ? The German media are wondering. Some of the leaders of this team will stop. On live television after the match, Thomas Müller spoke about the possibility that this match would be the last of his international career. But the evil seems deeper. Many, like Zeit, point to the “permanent weakness of the DFB”, the German federation and its president, Oliver Bierhoff. “DFB is failing on every level,” Kicker punishes. It shouldn’t go on like this.”