What drama! Despite yesterday’s 4-2 win against Costa Rica, the World Cup has ended for the second time in a row for the German national team. Because the simultaneous 1: 2 of Spain against Japan made a promotion of the Germans practically impossible. You should have won by seven goals for that. Although the Spaniards only finished second, they have an excellent starting position for the remainder of the tournament. And these 90 minutes plus seven minutes of stoppage time couldn’t be surpassed in terms of drama. In some cases, the Germans and Spain were eliminated together.
- 8:10 p.m .: Germany is further: Almost at the same time, the Germans took a 1-0 lead through Serse Gnabry and Spain in the parallel game against Japan (10th). Everything is going well for the DFB-Elf, in which Thomas Müller is given preference over Niclas Füllkrug.
- 9:06 p.m .: Germany is gone – and needs a goal: It takes revenge that the DFB selection has not scored more goals. Japan’s 1-1 equalization against Spain by Freiburg legionnaire Ritsu Doan would not be a problem. But Germany would have to win at least 2-0.
- 9:09 p.m .: Germany is gone – and needs seven goals: It becomes very quiet in the German coaching bench as Japan’s 2-1 lead is announced. It was a matter of a few millimeters, which is why the VAR controlled the Japan goal for minutes. The big question: When the ball was passed by Brighton Legionnaire Kaoru Mitoma, had the ball already completely crossed the goal line, or was it still scratched? The referee originally didn’t allow the goal, but in the end the goal from Düsseldorf player Ao Tanaka was recognized from close range. Now Germany would need a 7-0 to do it on their own.
- 9:21 p.m .: Germany breaks away completely: It gets even worse: With Yeltsin Tejeda’s equalizer to make it 1-1 (58th), the Germans are last again.
- 9:28 p.m .: Germany and Spain are gone: While Germany creates chance after chance, Juan Pablo Vegas manages to make it 2-1 for Costa Rica with the help of the German defense. Spain would also be out.
- 9:31 p.m .: Germany saves Spain: Kai Havertz scores to make it 2-2 – the Germans don’t save themselves, but the Spaniards, who are now attacking more themselves. Germany still needs a goal and the equalizer from Spain.
- 9.40 p.m .: Germany leads – and needs Spain’s compensation: The Germans take a 3-2 lead through Kai Havertz (85 ‘) and increase it to 4-2 (91 ‘) through Niclas Füllkrug – but only one more goal from the Spaniards helps.
- 9:53 p.m .: The World Cup is finally over for Germany: The goal of the Spaniards, so longed for by Germany, does not come in the seven minutes of added time. And the final reprint was also missing. The Germans are out – and Spain now have an excellent starting position as second. Morocco is waiting in the round of 16, in the quarter-finals, in the worst case, Portugal. Only in the semi-finals would you have to deal with world champion France against a really big opponent. The Spain match ended three minutes before the Germany game, so the DFB players leave the field knowing that Spain and Japan are ahead instead of Germany.
“It’s a faint feeling”
Germany has thrown its reputation as a tournament team to the wind. The four-time soccer world champion (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014) failed in the group stage for the second time in a row. While Manuel Neuer, Thomas Müller & Co. failed in Kazan in 2018 to South Korea (0: 2), yesterday in front of 67,054 spectators in Al Khor not even a 4: 2 victory over Costa Rica helped. The hoped-for Spanish support failed to materialize because the Iberians lost 2-1 to Japan after a 1-0 lead.
“All in all, we put a lot of effort into it. It wasn’t enough to pull off the miracle of winning by seven goals. It’s a feeling of helplessness. You can’t blame the team today and in the Spain game, the whole misfortune happened with the result against Japan,” said Müller, addressing the 2-1 defeat in the first group match.
“The disappointment is enormous. We actually had a good feeling that we had arrived in the tournament, that we could go a long way.” still thinking.
Double goalscorer Kai Havertz was also served: “We have to honestly admit that we didn’t expect Spain to lose to Japan.” A 2-2 draw in the parallel match would have been enough for Germany to advance. But it wasn’t like that. “With quality like that, it shouldn’t happen to us to lose against Japan. That’s why we’re flying home with good reason.” Stephanie Frappart, who was the first woman to referee a men’s World Championship match, is staying in Qatar. The French delivered an impeccable performance.
Source: Nachrichten
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
