The China Mail - 'Incomprehensible': Shocked Germany digests 'surreal' World Cup exit

"I don't even know what to say" Popp told Germany's ZDF after her side's 1-1 draw with South Korea meant they suffered their earliest ever World Cup exit.

"I can't quite understand what happened here."

Germany, a two-time World Cup winner and one of the tournament favourites, opened up their campaign with a dominant 6-0 win over Morocco but suffered a surprise 2-1 loss to Columbia.

The draw with South Korea meant the Germans finished third in their group, just one year after making it to the final of the Euros, where they lost in extra time to England.

A "shocked" German coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg said her side showed "a great sense of insecurity" in the match, with underdogs South Korea taking the lead after just six minutes.

Star midfielder Lena Oberdorf, tipped for a breakout tournament by many, said the loss was "surreal".

"We made it too easy for our opponent... the disappointment is huge, I can't put it into words."

The loss even won some surprise sympathy from South Korean coach Colin Bell, who told German TV he was "really sorry" about the country's premature exit.

"I didn't know that Germany was out until about four or five minutes after the game.

"I have spent more than half of my life in Germany. I love the country, my son and my granddaughter are German."

- 'Footballing dwarves' -

The elimination from the showpiece event mirrors the struggles of the once-powerful men's side.

The four-time winners have been eliminated at the group stage at the last two World Cups, raising serious questions about systemic problems in German football.

Tabloid Bild published an editorial moments after the loss, saying Germany had gone from giants of the game to "footballing dwarves".

"The sports world is laughing at us," the tabloid wrote, saying Germany's days of being "a feared tournament team" were "long ago".

"It is not just arrogance and a lack of imagination, but a lack of quality."

German politicians also weighed in, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz tweeting "unfortunately it wasn't enough in the end. The next chance will come".

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock tweeted "sometimes it doesn't work out. (keep your) heads up", while Sports Minister Nancy Faeser shared the 'heartbreak' emoji.

Voss-Tecklenburg, who took over as coach in 2019 and extended her deal to 2025 in April would not be drawn on what the result meant for her future.

The 55-year-old told the post-match press conference she did not want "emotion" to get the better of her and was "trying to remain objective and to take responsibility".

"I don't want to be pushed into anything now," she added.

Popp, 32, may have played her last World Cup match but said the future was bright for women's football in Germany.

"I think we need time to process this in order to pull our chins back up. You can't question the quality of this team."

L.Johnson--ThChM