Germany were eliminated in the FIFA World Cup Round of 16, and Nagelsmann had no answers.

Germany lost to Paraguay in the early hours of June 30th (CEST), exiting in the Round of 16. This defeat marks another low point in German football history and should lead to clear consequences, whether in squad building or the head coach position, Kairi Hao wrote in her commentary.

Nagelsmann did not get everything wrong, but he failed to move the team forward after a decent home European Championship and could not provide this team with clear tactical ideas.

Although Germany had won 11 consecutive national team matches before their 1-2 loss to Ecuador in the third group stage match of the FIFA World Cup, the team always seemed unstable. They often lacked ideas in attack and at times even appeared sluggish, while defensively they remained highly vulnerable. This was true both in the Nations League a year ago and in the current FIFA World Cup.

A penalty shootout is inherently a gamble. The refereeing Crew's decision not to award Jonathan Tah's 2-1 goal is certainly debatable. But the bigger problem is that Germany were put in such a predicament by a predictable opponent from the start.

Germany did not learn from their 1-2 loss to Ecuador and put themselves in a tougher situation from the first minute. The first half was particularly telling. Germany lacked everything in their play: speed, ideas, impact, and chances were all missing. The team's passing was barely at friendly-match level, allowing their opponent, ranked 37th in the world, to play with increasing confidence.

Although Nagelsmann's team gradually woke up after falling behind 0-1 and pushed forward more actively in the second half, creating some clear-cut scoring opportunities, it was far from enough. Neither the starting players nor the substitutes performed adequately.

Veterans such as captain Kimmich, Rüdiger, Tah, Sané, Goretzka, and Havertz failed to drive the team forward in the first knockout match of the FIFA World Cup; instead, they increasingly looked like a generation defined by failure. Young players such as Alexander Pavlovic and Felix Nmecha still struggled in their physical duels. As for "Wusiala," they were long gone.

Although bitter, this elimination was not unexpected. Germany therefore cannot continue like this.

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