You knew what was going to happen.

The national coach, the captain, the striker.

They just knew what was going to happen in that Olympics semifinal against Australia.

They said it almost word for word when they walked through the interview zone in front of the Oi Hockey Stadium in Tokyo on Tuesday evening and tried to explain what they would have liked not to explain.

“We played the Australian tank empty.

We knew that the Australians were very dynamic at the beginning, but that they couldn't keep the level throughout the game.

When your tank is empty, the game is usually over.

But if it isn't decided, you have a real chance of winning.

At that point we had it today, ”said Kais al Saadi, the national coach.

“We knew that the Australians were getting a bit tired at the back and would give full throttle at the beginning.

You have to survive this phase, ”said Tobias Hauke, the captain.

“Australia is accelerating at the beginning.

Then you get tired and there is less, ”said Florian Fuchs, the striker.

So you really knew what was going to happen. And they also used their knowledge. They only conceded two goals in the first half, the great urgency of the Australians: by Tim Brand (10th) and Blake Govers (27th, after a penalty corner). That was "in the frame", as Hauke ​​said later. Because in between Lukas Windfeder - also after a penalty corner - had scored 1: 1 with his sixth tournament goal. They then tried to initiate their own big urge phase in the second half. The plan actually worked. But only actually.

On Tuesday evening, the German national hockey team lost 3-1 in the semi-finals against Australia. She didn't score a goal in the final minutes, but had to accept one more. By Lachlan Sharp a minute before the end of the game, when she had already replaced the goalkeeper with an extra outfield player. She is therefore not playing for gold this Friday (3.30 a.m. CEST in the FAZ live ticker for the Olympic Games, on ARD and on Eurosport), not for gold, but for bronze, against India, the record Olympic champion, albeit in earlier days.

It could be that a series will end for the Germans. You have always won a medal in the past four summer games. It was bronze in Athens 2004 and Rio 2016. Gold in Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012. And because of these experiences, Florian Fuchs said at the moment of defeat what an effect a medal can have, even if it only shimmers bronze. "You only realize that when you've finished third and are on the podium."

Why wasn't it enough for the final? "We lost to a team that was more effective than us in both circles," said Tobias Hauke. The Germans lacked precision in the firing circle. They performed six penalty corners - and could only use one. The Australians were much more skilled. In attack, but above all in defense. “Even though, in my opinion, they were knocked out standing,” said al Saadi, “they managed to make little or no mistakes in the circle.” His players could not force the decisive mistake. They penetrated the circle of fire 20 times. So you've tried many times but failed. Or as goal scorer Lukas Windfeder said: “We gave everything. There was nobody in the place who still had any grains. Now it just hurts. "

This is what happened to all of the German players and coaches who spoke into the microphones in the interview zone. But they didn't want to hide it, on the contrary, they wanted to talk about it. "If you put as much heart into it as the boys do today, you run the risk of breaking it," said her coach. "From tomorrow we will glue it together." And the captain Tobias Hauke ​​said: "When we get up tomorrow, I am sure that the boys will be ready to get what we deserve."