Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said his side no longer belong among football’s leading teams after Paraguay knocked them out of the World Cup in Boston and extended a run of painful tournament exits.
Germany lost 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the Round of 32. The result followed group-stage eliminations in 2018 and 2022 and pushed the four-time world champions out before the latter stages for a third straight tournament.
“When you exit the World Cup after you play Paraguay it is very bitter. It is very hurtful,” Nagelsmann told BBC.
“This is the third elimination in a row, so we are not part of the first-class teams any more.”
Germany controlled the ball with 75 per cent possession but failed to turn that control into enough chances. Kai Havertz cancelled out Julio Enciso’s opener during normal time, but Germany then lost a World Cup penalty shootout for the first time in their history.
Nagelsmann dismissed suggestions that he could walk away after another difficult tournament.
“I’m not going to step back only because we are eliminated,” he said.
“If the DFB want me to continue, I am going to continue. I know how the industry works and a lot of people now want me to leave. I want to continue if the German FA wants me to.”
Former Germany midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger pointed toward deeper issues inside German football and argued that the national side had lost traits that once separated it from opponents.
“For a long time, player development in Germany has been all about passing, style of play and being tactically innovative, but there’s one element that maybe we didn’t focus on enough, and that is having a bit of edge.”
“We’ve lost that aura that made teams fear us. Other teams respect us but they don’t fear us any more.”
Former defender Arne Friedrich also questioned Germany’s performance level and said the elimination reflected their tournament as a whole.
