Group E came to a thrilling conclusion this evening as Japan and Spain went through to the Round of 16 at the expense of Germany.
A Kai Havertz double and strikes from Serge Gnabry and Niclas Fullkrug sealed the win but did little, in the end, to avoid successive group-stage exits at the World Cup.
japan remarkably secured the win that sealed their passage, surprisingly beating Spain 2-1 despite the ball appearing to have crossed the line for a goal kick in the build-up to their second goal.
Here are the four things we learnt from Germany’s victory.
Germany lacked a killer instinct throughout the tournament
For the second tournament running, captain Manuel Neuer and his teammates suffered the embarrassment of exiting the World Cup at the group stage.
Despite scoring four tonight, only scoring once in their opening two games was simply not good enough.
Hansi Flick has, at his disposal, some excellent technical attacking players, but he lacks a truly great centre forward in the mould of past greats such as Jurgen Klinsmann, Rudi Voller and Miroslav Klose.
Thomas Muller, ditched by the previous regime under Joachim Low, was recalled to the national side after Flick took over. No doubt, the Bayern player still has a lot he can offer to the side from an experience perspective, but there is no doubt his powers are on the wane; Germany looked less effective with him in the lineup.
The lack of options has allowed Niclas Fullkrug - who plays for Werder Bremen and spent much of his career playing in the 2.Bundesliga - the chance to earn a place in the squad. It might be a wonderful story, but it shows the lack of alternatives available.
Inadequacies in the Japan and Spain games ultimately proved costly and led to Germany going home with their tails between their legs.
Costa Rica shocked the world
It was a miracle the Central American nation qualified for the tournament, they only had 2 wins in their opening eight qualifiers. The Costa Ricans recovered to snatch the last spot in the Concacaf qualifiers.
After being dismantled by Spain in their opening game, it is fair to say not many gave them a chance of competing for a place in the knockout stages.
Despite having only one shot and offering very little, Luis Fernando Suarez’s side dug out a victory over Japan in their second match that surprised everyone - thanks to a Fuller Spence goal, with a helping hand from Japanese Goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda - and left everything to play for in Group E going into the final fixtures.
They played their part in one of the games of the tournament, to push former winners Germany all the way.
For a fleeting moment, Juan Pablo Vargas had his nation dreaming of having the opportunity to repeat the success of 2014. Unfortunately, substitute Kai Havertz proved a party pooper as Die Mannschaft proved a challenge too far.
Having looked after matchday one like the laughingstocks of the tournament, Costa Rica bowed out having restored some pride and dignity to their supporters.
End of an era
This latest failure most likely will see many mainstays of former glories bow out. More than likely, this will be the last time we see Thomas Muller pull on the famous white jersey. With Mats Hummels dropped and Marco Reus unfortunate to miss out in Qatar due to injury and doubts around Neuer’s place in the side, a massive rebuild is on the cards.
German football has a lot of soul-searching to do after underwhelming at the last three big tournaments. At club level, it is clear to see that Bayern’s dominance of the Bundesliga is hurting the national side, and it looks unlikely to change anytime soon.
Though the conveyor belt still produces talented players such as Havertz and Musiala, there is a mental weakness within this group of players that holds them back. With such a strong Bayern contingent, it cannot be overlooked.
Hansi Flick will unlikely lose his job for this loss, simply as there are no real serious options to replace him if he were to go. With the Euro’s being held on home soil in 2024, a massive facelift is needed to turn around their fortunes and avoid embarrassment.
Regrets, they will have a few (Costa Rica)
As the Costa Ricans lie in their hotel tonight after this encounter, no doubt they will look back at moments and think of how they could have done more.
Granted this is a very weak side and not much was expected of this group of players, but the game against Spain will surely gnaw at them. The 7-0 pummeling now with hindsight looks more like opening night nerves than necessarily Spanish brilliance.
If they had taken the game to Spain like they did against Germany this evening and put them under pressure, who knows what we could have been looking at in terms of the final makeup of the group.
Fuller Spence will lament over the opportunity he had at the end of the first half, and the possible effect it could have had for his side and the morale of Flick’s team.
As it is they will travel home with some regrets about how things fared out but realistically it was always going to be a World Cup too far for such an ageing side. With this a last hurrah for many, the future looks uncertain with so little in terms of quality coming through as replacements.
