Stunning loss knocks out Germany
KAZAN, Russia — There are many ways to describe the jawdropping results Wednesday in the World Cup, but perhaps nothing captures the implausibility more than one simple fact: Germany, the defending champion, took its earliest exit from the tournament since 1938, when Hitler was the country’s leader and only 15 teams participated.
Germany, perceived as a dynamic soccer machine that rarely sputters, broke down in an inglorious way, losing 2-0 to South Korea and leaving Russia about three weeks before anyone expected it to.
The game, and Germany’s World Cup, had been over for several minutes, but unlike some of his teammates, Toni Kroos was still on his feet.
Kroos, Germany’s star midfielder, looked stunned, nonetheless: standing all but motionless just outside the center circle and staring into space with a hand on each hip as South Korean players celebrated one of the bigger upsets in this tournament’s 88-year history.
On Saturday, Kroos had given Germany, the defending champion, what looked like a reprieve, with his curving marvel of a free kick to beat Sweden at the last minute.
Germany always finds a way, said those in the know as Kroos’ shot curled into the Swedish net as if guided by GPS. But that rush of pure adrenaline turned out to be a false dawn instead of the cathartic boost this talented but ultimately ineffectual team required.
With stars like Kroos, Mesut Özil and Mats Hummels, Germany won every match in qualifying for this World Cup, the first German team to do so. But it could not even make it out of the group phase in Russia.
It failed to score in its 1-0 upset loss to Mexico and failed to score again in its 2-0 loss to South Korea.
It appeared the Germans would need just one goal in the closing minutes Wednesday to win and secure their place in the round of 16. Instead, they surrendered two goals in added time, to Kim Young-gwon and Son Heung-min, and lost.
Instead, Sweden and Mexico were the teams to qualify for the knockout phase from Group F. With Sweden defeating Mexico 3-0 in Yekaterinburg, each finished with six points to Germany and South Korea’s three.
There seems to be a World Cup curse at work. Since the 1998 edition, the defending champion has been eliminated in the group phase on four occasions: France in 2002, Italy in 2010, Spain in 2014 and now Germany.
But this team’s early exit was still an undeniable shock, and Joachim Löw, the German coach since 2006, used that same word — “schock,” in his own language — to describe the experience Wednesday. “The disappointment of being eliminated is just huge,” said Löw, who said the team deserved to go out early. “It turned sour. I must take responsibility for this.”
The surprise was visible on the painted faces of the German fans in the late-afternoon light in Kazan. Above all, it was etched on the features of the German players as they cried on the field or hunched forward, hands on their knees, trying to absorb the blow.
“Of course, we had high expectations for ourselves, but I don’t think we could fulfill it any of the three games,” said Hummels, the central defender who missed the Sweden game with an injury but returned to the lineup Wednesday. “There was no game where we can say, ‘Yeah, we played the style we used to play and we expect ourselves to play.’ So we have to be disappointed in ourselves after such a tournament.”
A four-time World Cup winner, Germany was a finalist in 2002, third in 2006 and 2010 and the champion in 2014 after dealing the host nation of Brazil a 7-1 defeat in the semifinals, the memory of which still leaves many Brazilians wincing.
SWEDEN 3, MEXICO 0
Sweden was never challenged in the second half as it rolled to victory in Katerinburg, Russia, and overtook Mexico to win Group F just four nights after a gutwrenching last-minute loss to Germany.
Sweden makes its first appearance in the knockout stage since 2006. Mexico plays in the round of 16 for the seventh straight World Cup, with its fans desperate for its first quarterfinal appearance in 32 years.
Sweden didn’t want to focus on getting revenge by helping eliminate Germany, which got some favorable calls in a tense 2-1 victory over the Swedes on Saturday night.
“We grew another little bit,” Sweden coach Janne Andersson said. “I am not going to sit here and gloat having won a match or boast about a win. We don’t want to stir things up too much.”
As Sweden’s lead grew, Mexican fans paid more attention to the other game, rooting against Germany, which could have passed Mexico with a victory depending on tiebreakers.
El Tri’s faithful could be seen frantically checking their phones for scoring updates from Germany’s game soon after Sweden’s second goal. After South Korea’s first goal, they let up a loud cheer and tossed drinks in the air as their chances of advancing improved.
“We have to say we qualified because we beat Germany and Korea. However and nevertheless, I am very hurt,” said Mexico’s coach, Juan Carlos Osorio.