Last Exit Wembley.

After 15 years, the era of Joachim Löw has come to an end in one of the most traditional places in football.

Inglorious, as you unfortunately have to find out after the 2-0 draw against England.

The national team presented a disappointing performance in a comparatively weak round of 16 duel.

And when Müller of all people ran up to the English goal after the 0-1 and missed the ball, it was clear: The Germans' time in this tournament would run out prematurely.

However, the German end in the first round of the knockout phase is not surprising.

Since the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where the defending champion at the time was the bottom of the group in the preliminary round, the national coach has worked in vain for three years on the rebuilding he promised.

The return to the top of the world, which should be the goal of all his efforts, has never succeeded during this time.

At the European Championship, an inadequately prepared and formed far too late national team was only able to win one of four games despite numerous Champions League winners in their ranks.

The self-deception to which Löw, the national team and the German Football Association have surrendered again and again after the World Cup disaster has now finally been exposed.

Unsuccessful late work by the national coach

Many fans also did not want to admit that their favorite team had not found their way back to the top teams in the world. And that the myth of the German selection as a tournament team is just a beautiful picture from the past. A single win at this European Championship and seven goals conceded in four encounters is the sad truth. And the English didn't even need an outstanding day to deserve their fourth win without conceding a goal.

It is no consolation that an exhausting Corona season has left its mark on top international players. None of these teams made it to the quarter-finals from what appears to be the strongest group in the preliminary round, with world champions France and European champions Portugal. The fact that the Germans under Löw have not been seriously allowed to count among the top teams for many years is also part of the balance sheet of the national coach's unsuccessful late work.

The German team delivered little more than a solid but completely uninspired performance at Wembley. Concentrated and with a starting eleven changed to three positions, Löw's team tried somehow to find a balance between increased security and targeted attacks. An extremely controlled offensive that was aiming for a goal, but wanted to prevent a goal far more. Southgate pursued a similar plan as Löw, but used his aces up its sleeve. Löw never reacted.

In the German offensive game there was not much to be seen of automatisms between Werner, Müller and Havertz.

Only the will to find a gap through individual class, speed and intuition was pronounced.

But the fear of falling behind and then not being able to make up for this setback was palpable, especially in the German game.

The English brought a little more risk into the game in the first half, but they too initially looked mainly backwards.

After at least a decent initial phase in Germany, the English soon gained advantages.

And the German defense could be happy that an outstanding Hummels initially kept the overview even in dire need.

But when the German forces gradually waned in the second half and the German players could not tactically fall back on anything their coach could have given them in the three years since the World Cup, it was also about this German team with their great ones Happen to players and talents. The crash of German football under Löw took place in Wembley with all its sad consequences.