The 4 time World Cup champions, unfortunately, faced the prominent curse and ended their journey after a shocking 2-0 loss against South Korea.
Before the final match of Group H, soccer fans from all around the world were definite that they were going to easily beat the Taeguk Warriors and advance into the 16th round. In fact, the South Korean coach, Shin Tae-Yong knew the complicated situation as well. He told his players, “We only have a one percent chance of winning” and stated to the press “It is a match between the 1st and 57th. It will obviously be a demanding and exhausting game for us.” The match that was held in Kazan was a significant game for both sides as it was the last opportunity for South Korea to progress further and Germany had needed 3 points to continue.
The two goals for Korea was scored in the second-half stoppage time from Kim Young-Gwon and Son Heung-min which contributed greatly to earning the three precious points.
The VAR once again came to the rescue, as the linesman made an off-side call after Kim Young-Gwon's shot, yet the goal was given soon after a second revision. The embarrassment for the Germans continued when the German keeper Manuel Neuer was busy attacking in the South Korean half. Consequently, Tottenham’s star Son was able to score an open goal.
The astounding result in Kazan combined with Sweden’s 3-0 victory over Mexico meant that the Scandinavians and Mexico progressed to the round of 16. In the end, Sweden and Mexico finished on six points, with the Swedes finishing first due to goal difference, South Korea third with three points, and Germany fourth with three points.
Germany's coach Joachim Löw told reporters, "I am shocked. Shocked because we didn't manage to beat South Korea and we lost this important game." The German coach was fully aware that the team was under pressure as the Sweden game was playing at the same time. "We really had the feeling that our team wanted to move ahead and qualify for the knockout stages."
Germans ashamed, Koreans are able to relax
The head coach Shin Tae-Yong stated after the match, "Germany is the defending champions and are very frightening when they have the ball, so I thought about the mistakes they can make because they probably thought they could easily beat us."
After the victory, Shin mentioned that his methods and carefully planned strategies against Joachim Löw's team worked efficiently. Moreover, he strongly hoped that the performance would abate the recent criticism his players faced after their earlier matches.
Shin furthered by pointing out that the press usually were only interested in the results and chastised the team without knowing the 'internal aspects'. "They have no clue how we prepare and we are not able to deliver everything that goes on".
"2018 World Cup was also a difficult tournament and we told the players that if we produced a good result all of the past would be unremembered, that we'd have a chance to explain ourselves."
South Koreans, worldwide football fans, and humanity will never forget what happened in Kazan on June 27th, 2018.
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