Holders Germany crashed out of the World Cup in the group stage on Wednesday as Sweden and Mexico qualified on a day of incredible drama in Russia.
Germany finished bottom of Group F after a 2-0 defeat by South Korea.
Germany’s shocking 2-0 loss to South Korea, combined with Sweden’s 3-0 victory over Mexico, means it has failed to advance beyond the first round of a World Cup for the first time since 1938.
In reaction, the spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel laments, ‘How sad!’
A victory would have seen Germany through to the last-16 stage with six points. With Germany exiting, Sweden and Mexico have progressed from Group F.
This is the first time in history Germany have been dumped out of the World Cup at the group stage.
Joachim Low’s team, who beat Argentina to lift the World Cup in 2014, opened up their campaign in Russia with a 1-0 defeat to Mexico.
They scored an injury-time winner against Sweden to keep their hopes alive, but a shock defeat to South Korea sealed their fate.
Germany had over 70 per cent of the possession at the Kazan Arena but were unable to break down a resilient South Korean side.
Their best chance came in the 87th minute as Mesut Ozil found Mats Hummels with a superb cross but the Bayern Munich star failed to hit the target.
Five minutes later, South Korea scored only their second goal of the tournament as Kim Young-gwon fired home from close-range.
It was initially ruled out for offside but VAR showed the ball deflected off a German defender, meaning the decision was overturned.
In the past 16 World Cups, Germany have never failed to make it to the last eight. They came to Russia as World and Confederations Cup champions, as a nation that had industrialised youth development, that seemed to have effectively eliminated the possibility of failure.
But football has a strange way of making a mockery of the most well-grounded predictions and they went home after losing to a South Korea side that had already lost to Sweden and Mexico.
What was baffling here was how limp Germany were. There was no cavalry charge, no siege laid to the Korean goal.
There was a passivity, a meek acceptance of fact.
