Japan plunges Germany into deep mourning. Due to a stunt win against Spain, the 2014 world champion is ingloriously knocked out for the second tournament in a row.
“We are out, what a gigantic embarrassment,” it sounds at Bild. Germany again shows too little and fails in the group stage.
The exit hits Germany hard. Old age blanket Thomas Müller (33) takes his responsibility and speaks to the press. “It’s a complete disaster,” the Bayern Munich attacker agrees.
“I don’t know how to continue,” he says wistfully. Müller therefore sees the victory against Costa Rica as his farewell to the national team.
“There is a chance that this was my last game. I would like to say a few words to the German fans…”
“It was a great pleasure, dear people. We had great moments. I tried to show my heart on the field in every game.”
“Even if everything didn’t always work out, I did it with love”, are Müller’s emotional closing words. Hopefully he will be welcomed with open arms in his homeland.
However, a scenario such as with Roberto Martinez did not come to the Germans.
“I’m not speechless,” Hansi Flick responded after the World Cup exit. “I can place this game pretty well. I was really angry after the first half. The way we made the opponent strong through sloppiness was not possible. We had endless chances to score three or four goals.”
“The elimination was not decided today, but 20 minutes against Japan were deadly. We could have also made it 2-1 against Spain.”
“We have not been efficient in this tournament,” continued Flick, who indicated that he wanted to stay on as national coach. “I’m having a good time. We have a good team with promising players knocking on the door.”
