False hope and schadenfreude: Familiar feelings for Germany after another World Cup flop

BERLIN: Another World Cup, another early exit.
Germany should be getting used to disappointment, but they don’t make it any less painful for a traditional soccer heavyweight that had been tentatively hoping for a fifth World Cup title to restore lost pride.
Germany did manage to survive the group stage for the first time since winning the trophy in 2014, but their little consolation after Monday’s loss to unheralded Paraguay on penalties sent the team home after the first knockout game.
“We messed it up,” Joshua Kimmich told reporters after the match in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
It was a familiar feeling for the Germany captain who also struggled for explanations after the team’s group-stage exit at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
“As a child, when you watched the national team during tournaments, it was always semifinals, finals, or world champions. There was always lots of success.

You grew up with that, cheering them on,” the 31-year-old Kimmich said Monday, when he apologized for the team failing to meet expectations.
“All of us who were on the pitch should feel that, rather than looking to blame someone else. We blew it,” Kimmich said in comments reported by dpa.
Coach under fire
Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann is in the firing line after some contentious calls — particularly after recalling veteran goalkeeper Manuel Neuer from international retirement just before the tournament after months of denials.
The 40-year-old Neuer failed to justify his inclusion at the expense of Hoffenheim’s Oliver Baumann, and was arguably at fault for Ecuador’s winning goal in the last group game.
“I gave it my all,” Neuer said.
Nagelsmann finally bowed to pressure and gave forward Deniz Undav his first start against Paraguay, but the