It was captain Joshua Kimmich who spoke most openly following from the at the hands of Paraguay. The Bayern Munich man’s dismay was plain to see, but he still managed to go beyond mere platitudes in his post-match analysis.
“When I watched the national team as a kid, it was always semi-finals, finals, world champions – nothing but great successes,” Kimmich said. “Being passionate about the national team really shaped you. That’s something we’d like to give the kids and people back home.
“But once again, we’ve failed to spark any kind of excitement, to be a team on the pitch that people can identify with, because, in the end, it all comes down to whether you’re a success.”
The team’s overwhelming sense of disappointment is all the more pronounced because this is nothing new. In 2018, they were knocked out at the end of the group stage as defending champions, and four years later, their campaign came to a shuddering halt at the same hurdle.
They at least made it through to the knockout phase this time round, but once again Germany have fallen a long way short of their own targets, with Kai Havertz making it clear that he held the team responsible for their .
“All I can do is apologise,” said the Arsenal attacker, who had earlier hauled his side level at 1-1 but then missed the first spot kick. “We – and I mean the players in particular, leaving the coach out of it – need to take a long hard look at ourselves.”
For Kimmich, too, the question of who to blame was clear. “No one should even think of blaming the referee for this, or the penalty shoot-out today,” the Germany captain said. “If you can’t win over 120 minutes, you deserve to be knocked out. You can’t be dependent on luck against opponents like that; you need to have the quality in your team to beat them convincingly.”
Once again, Germany’s quality was lacking at Boston Stadium; it was too predictable and not incisive enough, according to coach Julian Nagelsmann.
“It took us too long to start moving our opponents around the pitch,” said Nagelsmann, frankly, on German TV channel ZDF, highlighting the team’s shortcomings. “We needed to get the ball into the penalty area much more often, but we should have put the match to bed earlier. Our play today was quite simply too slow.”
However, Nagelsmann seemed more annoyed by his team’s defensive showing, given that Paraguay needed just one good move to breach the German backline. “Unfortunately, in football, some teams are able to win using quite simple tactics – and you need to be able to defend properly against such tactics,” he reflected.
At the post-match press conference, Nagelsmann said he knew exactly “how things work in football” and acknowledged that the questions about his future were only natural. His contract runs until 2028, and his players are hoping that this was not the last tournament with him at the helm.
“I hope he continues to believe in himself and his abilities, because no one in the dressing room is pointing the finger at him,” said Kimmich, who believes that players are often quick to blame the coach when things go wrong, while reiterating that it is not the case with Germany. “At the end of the day, we are the ones out on the pitch, and we, as Germany, must be looking to beat Paraguay.”
The elimination is an especially bitter pill to swallow for Kimmich personally. “It’s even more significant to be knocked out as captain,” said the right-back, who had been moved into central midfield before extra time began, just as many fans in Germany had been calling for. “You carry a great responsibility for the group. I feel that responsibility – and we should all feel it, those of us who were on the pitch. In the end, we unfortunately messed it up again.”
Sources: FIFA Official
