Germany beat Costa Rica 4-2 at the Al-Bayt Stadium on Thursday night but that wasn’t enough as Japan beat Spain 2-1 in the corresponding Group E fixture, meaning Hansi Flick’s side were eliminated at the group stage once again. Serge Gnabry opened the scoring for Germany. In a dramatic turn of events, Costa Rica scored twice in the second-half but Kai Havertz scored a brace and Niclas Füllkrug secured a win for Die Mannschaft.
Reacting to the defeat and Germany’s elimination, Flick said: “The disappointment is huge. I can’t blame Spain. I never look at other teams. We only have ourselves to blame, we had enough chances, especially against Japan and also against Spain at the end of the game.”
Despite his comments earlier on in the week, Flick discussed whether he would resign: “We’ll work that out quickly, it’s difficult to answer now right after the game when we’re eliminated. We’ll see about that very soon.”
Germany opened their group stage with a catastrophic defeat against Japan as they took the lead before conceding two late goals. The following game against Spain saw them draw 1-1, requiring another late goal but that wasn’t enough as it meant their fate was not in their hands, despite the 4-2 win.
This is the second World Cup in a row that Germany are eliminated at the group stage, several players did not perform as they should have and Hansi Flick made some questionable tactical decisions. Germany must now turn their focus to rebuilding for the 2024 European Championship where they are the hosts.
GGFN | Jack Meenan
