Chinanews.com, Beijing, December 2. Question: What happened to German football who missed two consecutive World Cups?
Author Liu Xingchen
German fans, in the end, failed to wait for a miracle.
In the early morning of the 2nd Beijing time, the Qatar World Cup Group E group matches were all over.
Although the German team beat Costa Rica 4:2, they failed to advance due to a lower goal difference than Spain.
From Russia to Qatar, the "German Chariot" missed the group stage for two consecutive World Cups.
The picture shows the German team players shooting
Won the Hercules Cup 4 times, entered the finals 8 times, and entered the World Cup finals 20 times... In the nearly 100-year history of the World Cup, German football is undoubtedly successful.
However, it seems a bit helpless to mention these things under the current circumstances...
The "German tank" that fell short
In the life-and-death battle with the Costa Rica team, Gnabry helped the "German Chariot" score in the 10th minute of the game.
However, the situation changed suddenly in the second half. In the 58th minute, Tejeda equalized the score for the Costa Rica team.
In the 70th minute, Juan Vargas scored in the penalty area and Costa Rica overtook Germany 2:1.
Unwilling to lose, the German team launched a crazy counterattack.
From the 85th minute to the 88th minute of the game, Haverts and Phil Kruger scored two goals in a row, and the German team sealed the victory 4:2.
However, in Qatar, the goddess of luck is still not on the side of the German team.
The Germans, who fell short, left with regret.
The picture shows the German team player (white) holding the ball
Since the start of the Qatar World Cup, the mood of German fans has been like a roller coaster.
The first round was reversed by the Japanese team with 2 goals within 5 minutes, and a pot of cold water was poured on them mercilessly.
In the early hours of this morning, just as the team's qualifying situation was in favor of the "Germanic Chariot", the situation reversed again.
As the favorites to win the championship, the German team eventually repeated the mistakes of four years ago.
In the memory of many people, the German team has advanced skills and tactics, strict discipline, and is the king's division with a steely will.
This is also the reason why German football has so many fans around the world.
In the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, it was the German team that defeated Argentina in the final that made Messi's dream of winning the cup come to naught.
The championship lineup of the "German Chariot" that year was also known as the "Golden Generation".
But in recent years, the life of German football has not been easy. The story begins with the World Cup in Russia four years ago.
Defending champions, out of group
On June 27, 2018, at the Kazan Stadium, the defending champion Germany team ushered in a life-and-death battle with South Korea in the World Cup group stage.
Before that, the German team lost 0:1 to Mexico in the first game, and "renewed life" at the last moment of the second game successfully defeated the Swedish team 2:1.
But even though the state is slow, few people still believe that the defending champion will leave in a hurry.
After all, since the 1938 World Cup in France, the Germans have never been eliminated in the World Cup group stage.
Data map: The picture shows the 2018 World Cup in Russia, German star Ozil (middle) caught in the siege of South Korean players.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Tian Bochuan
But when the final whistle blew, Kim Young-kwon and Sun Xingmin's goals in stoppage time made the "German Chariot" lose 0:2.
After three games in the group stage, the German team had to bid farewell to the World Cup.
The poor performance caused German football to be questioned like never before. It seemed that at the moment of being out, everything fell to the altar.
The lineup is aging, the main players are in poor condition, the head coach's tactics are inappropriate...
At the end of that year, former German team international Boateng bluntly stated on social media that 2018 was very difficult, and he was glad that this year was finally over.
flick era
After a disastrous defeat, veterans such as Gomez withdrew from the national team one after another, and the German team began to rebuild.
However, last summer, the "German chariot" that set foot on the European Cup field failed to make people shine.
Data map: The then head coach of the German team Loew.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Tian Bochuan
They lost 0:2 to the England team and stopped in the last sixteen of the European Cup.
After losing the ball in the game, the German team did not show the fighting spirit it should have, and the loss is no longer surprising.
On the tragic exit night, many German players shook their heads in frustration.
In that game, the German team's weakness on the defensive end was further magnified.
In 4 games, they were scored 7 times by their opponents.
The players' careless defensive positions on the court make it difficult to associate this team with the iron-blooded style of the "German Chariot".
Data map: Flick in training
In fact, as early as March last year, the German Football Association announced that the German coach Loew will leave after the European Cup.
After the team was eliminated at that time, Loew, who did not actively seek substitutions and adjustments, was once again pushed to the forefront.
In the end, the meritorious coach who had been in charge of the German team for 15 years left sadly.
A passage in the farewell speech made people's impression of him stay on the word "stubborn".
"It's a difficult question for me to discuss whether the lineup is wrong or not."
The new helm of the "German Legion" is Flick, who led Bayern to achieve the "Triple Crown" feat of the season, and he is well versed in the instructions of Bundesliga players.
After taking over the team, Flick gradually transitioned the German team's somewhat dull positional attack to a high-position press, and led the team to complete the transition from old to new.
The picture shows the German team player (white) scoring the fourth goal
Before the start of the World Cup in Qatar, the German team was the first team other than the host to advance to the finals.
In the world preliminaries, they made great progress all the way.
In March this year, the German team defeated the Israeli team in a friendly match.
After Flick took office, the team won 8 consecutive victories, which is the longest winning streak of the German team in 42 years.
how to go in the future
Just when the outside world believed that under the leadership of the new coach, the "Germanic Legion" would reshape its glory, the trip to Qatar once again made German football fall into contemplation.
Especially facing the Japanese team's World Cup opener, the consecutive goals conceded in a short period of time reflected from the side that the team still has a lot of problems in terms of concentration and tacit understanding.
Although the German team has basically completed the replacement of the old and the new, the current lineup is far from the "golden generation".
Neuer, who is still guarding the door of the German team in this World Cup, is about to enter the age of 37. It is unknown whether he can continue to participate in the next World Cup trip.
The picture shows the scene of the game
The "center shortage" problem that was exposed 4 years ago has not yet been resolved.
In fact, after veteran Klose and others left, the German team has been unable to find a suitable candidate for the striker position.
In this World Cup, they also experienced the bitterness of "weakness".
After missing the cut, German team veteran Muller said he had tried his best.
"If this is my last game, I would like to say to all the German fans: 'We had great moments and I gave my all in every game. It sometimes brought tears of joy, sometimes Will bring pain to everyone's faces. But even if what I do doesn't work out, I do it with love.'”
Once upon a time, the German team was the "hard bone" in the eyes of opponents.
But the road ahead, where should this former World Cup champion go?
(Finish)