Where did it all go wrong?
On Wednesday, Germany failed to qualify from the group stage at a World Cup finals for the first time since 1938.
AFP looks at five reasons why the defending champion performed so badly in Russia:
Misguided loyalty
Head coach Joachim Loew has always stuck by his tried and trusted stars — but it was Germany’s undoing in Russia.
Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira are glaring examples of Loew’s misguided loyalty.
Both were dropped for the 2-1 win over Sweden after poor performances in the opening loss to Mexico, yet neither made an impact when recalled for Wednesday’s 2-0 loss to South Korea.
Thomas Mueller, one of the heroes from the 2014 win, was rightly dropped from the starting XI against South Korea but failed to make an impact after he came off the bench.
Even Toni Kroos, fresh from winning the Champions League with Real Madrid, was a shadow of his usual self in Russia, only redeeming himself with the winning goal against Sweden.
A cleanout of the winners from four years ago, many of whom are past their sell-by dates, is on the cards.
Tactical travesty
Russia 2018 is a serious dent to Loew’s golden reputation and his 12-year reign could be coming to an end.
The 58-year-old has already said he is considering his future, despite signing a contract extension until 2022 only last month.
Germany has stagnated in the past 12 months.
Loew has not developed the team tactically, torn between the 4-2-3-1, which won the World Cup, or toying with deploying a back three.
There was a glaring lack of tempo and incisiveness in Germany’s game throughout the tournament and, when the pressure was on, none of Loew’s stars could crack the South Korean defense.
Young guns holstered
Germany won last year’s Confederations Cup without their stars, but Timo Werner was the only emerging players to be given a regular starting berth on the senior team.
Leon Goretzka, who led Germany’s midfield brilliantly at the Confederations Cup, Niklas Suele, Julian Brandt and Sebastian Rudy were only given their chance when Loew’s firstchoice players were suspended or injured.
The decision to omit Manchester City’s Leroy Sane, voted the Premier League’s Best Young Player last season, from the World Cup squad spoke volumes when fresh impetus was badly needed in Russia.
Myth busted
Before the World Cup started, both Kroos and Jerome Boateng confidently described Germany as “a tournament team that switched on for finals,” and the feeling was things would eventually click.
The myth was blown clean away by the defeats to Mexico, South Korea and the nervy, last-gasp win over Sweden.
It is a consequence of too many Germany stars enjoying their status as World Cup winners without the performances to back it.
Germany qualified for Russia with a perfect record of 10 wins, but as Mats Hummels admitted after the loss to South Korea, the last time the team played well together was late 2017.
The writing on the wall — from losses to Brazil and Austria and a shaky win over Saudi Arabia in a pre-tournament friendly — was ignored to Germany’s peril.
Dodgy defense
In Russia, Germany was nowhere near the compact unit that conceded just four goals in seven games at the 2014 World Cup.
First-choice centerbacks Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng are short of pace but regularly were left to fend for themselves at the back — particularly in the opening defeat to Mexico.
Despite only recently returning from a fractured foot, veteran goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was too often called upon as Germany’s last line of defense.
The lack of German defenders hurling themselves into tackles, like they did in Brazil four years ago, was glaring in Russia, as was the lack of composure when defending.