THE furious German press slammed Hansi Flick and his “embarrassing disgrace” of a team following their shock World Cup exit.
The 2014 world champions were dumped out in the group stages in Russia four years ago.
And history repeated itself on Thursday night as Team DFB finished third in Group E – behind Spain on goal difference.
Germany lost to Japan in their opening game, which proved critical, before a draw with Spain and a comeback 4-2 win over Costa Rica.
But Japan’s victory over Spain meant Flick’s side can pack their bags and fly home.
And ready and waiting for them when they land will be a fuming German public and media.
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As well as Bild’s damning “embarrassing disgrace” assessment, the newspaper used the headline “wie Wembley” – “like Wembley” – in reference to the controversial Japan winner which bore resemblance to Geoff Hurst’s goal in the 1966 final.
However, English fans were quick to remind their rivals of the Frank Lampard ghost goal from 2010 as they celebrated Germany’s demise.
Even airline Ryanair could not resist a cheeky dig at Flick’s side and equally-pathetic Belgium with a tweet saying they were “carrying” the two teams home – while Wojciech Szczesny carries Poland and Kylian Mbappe does the same for France.
Back in the German media, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung hit out: “German football is at rock bottom again, four years after a historic first-round exit.”
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The Hamburg and Dresden Morning Posts went with the headline “Katarstrophe” in reference to the World Cup taking place in Qatar.
Die Welt said: “Germany is no longer a tournament team. It will take fundamental change to get out of this rut.”
FAZ added: “Things have been going downhill since winning the 2014 World Cup. The return to the top of the world is just an illusion for the DFB team.”
And the Bavarian Football Works demanded Flick resigns if he has “any dignity”.
Legendary former captain Lothar Matthaus added: “It was down to the defence, that was too easy for the opponent, against Japan, also against Costa Rica. Don’t be surprised if you make mistakes like this.
“It was also due to the conversion of chances, that was bad luck, but also inability. It would have been possible to score a lot more goals.”
National team director Oliver Bierhoff confessed Germany “lack the efficiency we always had” and Bastian Schweinsteiger was highly critical of the German defence.
The ex-Manchester United man declared: “Very, very bad. In defence, we only have one player who plays at a high level and that’s Toni Rudiger. The others – that’s normal Bundesliga level and we have to get back to having a good defence.”
Sami Khedira described the use of Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka as a “gamble” – but both he and Thomas Hitzlsperger want Flick to stay on as boss.
Hitzlsperger said: “It was his first major tournament with primary responsibility.
“Are we really that good? Do we really have such great players?
“He has to get the chance to learn from these mistakes, which are now being revealed in the analysis.
“I think it’s absolute nonsense to kick the coach out now.”
Bayern Munich and Germany ace Joshua Kimmich was devastated with his side’s early exit.
He said: “For me personally, this is the worst day of my career.
“I’m afraid I’ll fall into a hole!
“It makes you think, these failures are connected to my person.
“We messed up in 2018, then we blew up the Euros last year.”
Team-mate Antonio Rudiger was equally hurting: “We’re back to zero, that’s the harsh reality.
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“A lot of talent, all well and good, but there are other things to it.
“That last greed, that something dirty, that’s what we’re missing. We are a very, very nice team.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
