The German women’s national team was eliminated in the preliminary round of the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The 1-1 draw with South Korea was not enough to advance as Morocco defeated already qualified Colombia. Never before had the DFB women failed in the group phase of a World Cup. The crisis in German football seems complete. The international press writes about this:
Australia
“The Australian”: “World Cup shocker: The third power pack is out early. First it was Italy and Brazil, now Germany has been eliminated from this World Cup full of surprises.”
The Sydney Morning Herald: “The two-time champions were eliminated from the Women’s World Cup in one of the biggest shocks in the tournament’s history. (…) The world champions of 2003 and 2007 have themselves to blame.”
“The Daily Telegraph”: “The elimination from the World Cup reflects the difficulties of the once-strong men’s national team. In the last two tournaments, the four-time world champion was eliminated in the group stage, which raises serious questions about systemic problems in German football.”
France
“L’Equipe:” “A fiasco that saddens the country. (…) The famous saying of former English striker Gary Lineker: ‘Football is a simple sport: 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and in the end Germany wins’ seems to be out of date now.”
Great Britain
The Sun: “GOODBYE. Germany were knocked out of the Women’s World Cup and suffered the biggest shock of the tournament so far.”
“BBC”: “It’s a feeling that Germany is not used to. It’s a major setback twelve months after losing to England in the EURO 2022 final. (…) Eliminating in the group stage of a major tournament is always a shock – but to see both the men’s and women’s teams within nine months getting stuck is unimaginable.”
Colombia
“El Pais”: “The Germans are eliminated through the back door. There is no doubt that the competition at this World Cup is very tough. The gap between the big and the small has narrowed significantly. Anything is possible, but the USA are the main contenders for the title.”
Switzerland
“Blick”: “World Cup embarrassment – the Germans are out.”
“Neue Zürcher Zeitung”: “The German football crisis is perfect.”
“Tagesanzeiger”: “German football is only a pseudo-giant.”
Spain
“Marca”: “Without words. A big disappointment. (…) The German team started with a 6-0 win against debutant Morocco and scared all participating teams with their playing strength. No one could have guessed what would happen next. Germany, Brazil and Canada go home without qualifying. A lot more was expected of them, but neither size nor titles win games.”
“AS”: “Two-time champion disaster. Germany is kicked out! (…) The big disappointments of the group stage were two-time world champions Germany (…) and Copa America winners Brazil, who were also eliminated earlier than expected.”
A comment by Peter Penders Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 81 Marc Heinrich, Brisbane Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 8 Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 43
South Korea
“Chosun Ilbo”: “Although both Korea and Germany were eliminated in the group stage at the same time, Korea smiled. (…) Beaming, as if it had won, and Germany, which had never doubted it would reach the round of 16, shed tears.”
“JoongAng Ilbo”: “What does deja vu mean in German?”
