Arsenal star Kai Havertz issued a full and frank apology to fans of the German national team after an agonising penalty shootout defeat against Paraguay in the World Cup round of 16. The 27-year-old striker appeared to have dug his side out of a hole when he equalised nine minutes after the restart following Julio Enciso's first-half opener. However, Havertz missed a glorious headed opportunity to settle the contest before the end of the 90 minutes, and worse was to come.
Havertz was one of three Germany players, along with Nick Woltemade and Jonathan Tah, to miss from the spot, consigning Germany to a third consecutive premature World Cup exit. 'I'm speechless,' said Havertz after his costly error. 'My second World Cup, and we've messed up for the second time. The last few tournaments were a disaster. The only thing I can say is I'm sorry. We players need to take a long, hard look at ourselves. We're playing for a huge country with a rich football history.'
Germany's Group Stage Performance and Warning Signs
Germany topped their group after thrashing Curacao and secured top spot following an unconvincing comeback win over Ivory Coast. Defeat against Ecuador might have provided a warning ahead of another test against obdurate South American opponents, but they produced a first-half display that was described as 'weak' by BBC pundit Alan Shearer. Die Mannschaft came close to staging a recovery after the break but ultimately got what they deserved, according to skipper Joshua Kimmich.
'It feels terrible,' said the Bayern Munich star. 'We didn't play well against any of our opponents. We struggled badly in all three matches against teams that aren't world-class. That's a fact. We deserved to be eliminated.' In a further interview, he added: 'We're playing here to make Germany proud. As a kid, I've always watched Germany reach semifinals and finals. We couldn't give that to the people watching at home. I think people in Germany need something to be proud of at the moment, unfortunately that's not the national team. We, the players on the pitch, messed up and we assume the responsibility. It wasn't the coach, it wasn't the media, it wasn't the referee, it wasn't the opponent. It was just us.'
Future of Head Coach Julian Nagelsmann in Doubt
A full-scale inquest is already underway, and the future of head coach Julian Nagelsmann will likely be determined in the coming weeks. The former Bayern Munich head coach was asked whether he planned to continue in his role and said: 'I'm not someone who runs away. I'm available if that's what the DFB wants. If they don't want me, they need to tell me. I want to continue. In football, you don't have complete control. If the DFB wants me to, I'd be happy to prepare for the Euros and the Nations League. If they don't want me to, they need to say it.'
