“Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and in the end the Germans always win.”
It seems like an age since former England striker Gary Lineker coined that memorable phrase – but it reflects a reality that seems even more distant after Germany’s latest embarrassment at the World Cup in Qatar.
Germany, once seen as sure to go far in major tournaments, withdrew from the World Cup on goal difference despite a chaotic 4-2 victory over Costa Rica, with Japan wins over Spain prove the limit to their hopes.
It is the second consecutive World Cup that Germany have failed to break out of their group, suffering the same fate in Russia in 2018.
This had not happened in 16 previous tournaments before.
Given that record, Germany now find themselves perilously close to slipping into football’s ‘B list’.
The sight of the German players staring at a bank of empty red seats was the somber conclusion to a painful campaign, their fate already known before the final whistle and prompting many fans to leave.
It came at the end of a night that promised – for a few minutes at least – to be one of the most memorable in World Cup history, with Costa Rica overturning Germany’s lead thanks to goals from Yeltsin Tejeda and Juan Pablo Vargas.
That meant, for three exhilarating minutes, that Costa Rica crossed alongside Japan.
Incredibly, Germany and Spain were heading for the exit. What were the odds before a ball was kicked?
But it didn’t last. Kai Havertz scored twice to restore some semblance of order, with the fourth without any consolation from Niclas Fullkrug.
Germany got the victory they needed to give them a chance of survival, but it was for naught. Japan’s victory over Spain assured that.
German head coach Hansi Flick looked devastated at the final whistle, defender Antonio Rudiger crumbled and veteran goalkeeper Manuel Neuer stared – in disbelief – into the distance.
Germany’s elimination is a shock, based solely on their reputation and past, but they can’t complain, just like they couldn’t complain in Russia when they finished bottom of a dominated group. by Sweden, losing to Mexico and South Korea. .
So perhaps this latest disappointment for a country with such a proud and rich history shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.
Recent history has shaken their former impregnable reputation, which saw them beat Argentina to lift the trophy in 2014 but saw the first signs of the armor being dented four years later.
Germany were average at Euro 2020, exiting England in the last 16 after an undistinguished tournament, and all the evidence points to none of the old fear factors associated with the famous white shirt.
Flick took over from Joachim Low in 2021 but the man who won the Champions League at Bayern Munich inherited a major rebuilding job.
They started badly in Qatar with a defeat against Japan. It left them vulnerable and it proved despite a hard-earned point against Spain and that win over Costa Rica.
Such is the demand for success – indeed the expectation of success – in Germany that this latest setback is sure to trigger a lengthy investigation into how it went wrong and what is needed to fix it. It will be a shock to their system.
Germany have outstanding young talent in 19-year-old Jamal Musiala and Chelsea’s Havertz is still just 23, but there are signs that the old guard that has backed them through so much success is just starting to wear off. fray at the edges.
Neuer is 36 years old and is probably playing his last World Cup. Thomas Muller is now 33 and retired here, his main contribution missing an easy early chance. Manchester City’s Ilkay Gundogan is 32 years old.
Fullkrug, Flick’s World Cup wild card, scored against Spain and Costa Rica but is 29 and only found his way into the squad due to injuries to RB’s Timo Werner Leipzig and Lukas Nmecha from Wolfsburg.
Joshua Kimmich, 27, will be vital in the next stage of Germany’s development but there are sure to be some tough talks once they return home and recover from the setback in Qatar.
Flick said: “We have just been eliminated. We can get up quickly and recover. We will see what the future looks like and how we can implement our ideas.
“We have to assess our World Cup and go in a different direction. This is the next step we are going to take and we will do it very soon. We need the basics again.
“I am a very critical person and we will evaluate everything.”
The bottom line is that throughout this tournament, Germany showed none of their familiar toughness in defense and were complacent every time they went forward. It’s a deadly combination in tournament football.
Germany’s air of invincibility is long gone and the past two weeks may have been the final confirmation of that fact.
They leave Qatar as a fallen giant of world football.
