For the second straight World Cup, Germany, the 2014 winners, are headed home due to group-stage elimination.
It is the first time in German soccer history that they failed to make it out of the group stage in two straight World Cups, prompting German forward Thomas Müller to describe it as an “absolute catastrophe.”
Despite Germany winning 4-2 over Costa Rica on the final day of Group E play, Japan’s 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Spain eliminated the Germans.
Head coach Hansi Flick said German football will “head into a different direction, and very soon.”
This comes just 18 months prior to Germany hosting Euro 2024, the second-biggest tournament for European countries. Flick, who didn’t discuss his future as Germany’s head coach said big changes will be made to make sure Germany is competitive in that tournament.
Germany’s Thomas MuellerGetty Images
Germany was eliminated before the knockout round for the second straight World Cup.dpa/picture alliance via Getty IIn Euro 2020, which was played in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Germany was eliminated by England in the Round of 16.
“In light of the Euros, it is difficult to talk about that right now, but we need to assess our World Cup, head into a different direction,” Flick said. “This is the next step we will take, and we will do it very soon. We can get up quickly and recover. We will see what the future looks like and how we can implement our ideas. I am a very critical person and we will assess everything.”
Part of this different direction is likely that German soccer staples Müller, Manuel Neuer, and Mario Gotze have just played in their last World Cup.
Müller admitted this exit was a tough pill to swallow.
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“It’s an absolute catastrophe,” Muller said. “It is unbelievably bitter for us because our result would have been enough [if Spain hadn’t lost to Japan]. It’s a feeling of powerlessness. If that was my last game for Germany, it has been a tremendous pleasure, thank you very much.”
A Spain victory over Japan or a draw between the two would have advanced Germany, but Flick said his team has no one to blame but themselves.
“You have to take your chances and score goals. If we had, it would have been a different story. There were lots of individual mistakes in the games and it made me very angry. I told the team I was upset,” he said. “But I am not looking for excuses. We fulfilled our duty today, we got the win, but the scoreline could have been better.”
