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1/11
That's when it happened: After beating Costa Rica 4-2, the German team (here with İlkay Gündoğan) was eliminated again after the group stage because Japan beat Spain at the same time.
The 2022 tournament will go down in German World Cup history as a low point, but it is not the first disappointment.
Photo:
FRANCK FIFE / AFP
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2/11
It was just four years ago that the DFB team did not make it through the group stage for the first time in their World Cup history.
As reigning world champions, they lost their opener to Mexico, saved three points against Sweden with a goal in injury time, and went home fourth and bottom of the group after a 2-0 loss to South Korea.
It was the biggest defeat of the Löw era, which, however, was to drag on for another three tough years until the 2021 European Championship.
Photo: Frank Hoermann/SVEN SIMON / imago/Sven Simon
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3/11
A disaster with announcement was the first participation of a German team at the 1938 World Cup in France.
After the »Anschluss« of Austria, coach Sepp Herberger was to field an eleven made up of Germans and Austrians in a ratio of 5 to 6 or 6 to 5.
Not only did the two groups play completely different systems, they weren't exactly on good terms either.
Photo: Keystone Street / picture alliance / dpa
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4/11
So it came as it had to: The tournament, which was played entirely in a knockout system, was eliminated right from the start in the round of 16.
If you initially saved yourself against the Swiss to a 1-1 after extra time, the mixed selection lost in the replay.
Germany then had to wait another 16 years for their first World Cup win - a 4-1 win over Turkey at the 1954 tournament.
Photo: - / picture alliance / dpa
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5/11
The gradual descent after the world championship title with the end point eight years later - does this sound familiar to you?
This is what happened to national coach Herberger in the years that followed the title in 1954. In 1958 they made it to the semi-finals by beating Yugoslavia in the quarter-finals, four years later after poor tournament performance in Chile against the same opponent in the round of eight.
Photo: imago sportfotodienst / imago images / Otto Krschak
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6/11
An uninspired team lost 0:1 to the Yugoslavs.
Herberger already saw the decline in performance coming and, in desperation, tried to persuade his former captain Fritz Walter to take part in the tournament.
Mind you, he was about to turn 42 and had already ended his career in 1959.
German football needed a new coach: Helmut Schön.
Photo: imago sport photo service / imago/Horstmüller
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7/11
Semi-finals in 1970, title in 1974, Schön's first two World Cup tournaments were great successes, but the hard landing followed in 1978.
Stars like Franz Beckenbauer and Paul Breitner didn't even go to Argentina, the youngsters weren't that far or didn't want to follow the leader anymore.
The DFB-Elf played three goalless games, including the terrible games against Poland and Tunisia.
Photo: imago sport photo service / imago/Horstmüller
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8/11
But the big bang was yet to come, the »disgrace of Córdoba«, the 2:3 against Austria.
At that time, the defeats of the German team were so rare that there was a story about each one: the Wembley goal in 1966, the game of the century in 1970, the shame of Cordoba.
Berti Vogts scored an own goal in the legendary elimination in the intermediate round.
He should also play a leading role in the next World Cup disaster.
Photo:
imago sport photo service / imago/WEREK
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9/11
July 1994, Giants Stadium, New York.
In the quarterfinals against Bulgaria, defending champions Germany were big favorites and led 1-0 with fifteen minutes to go.
But then came Christo Stoitschkow and Jordan Letschkow and the team, which according to Vogts predecessor Beckenbauer should be unbeatable for years to come, had to pack their bags.
Photo: Juha Tamminen / imago / AFLOSPORT
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10/11
What were those times when losing out in the quarter-finals was considered an insult to the soul of German football?
In 1998 it happened again.
They lost 3-0 to the Croatians, it was Vogts' last tournament game and he was subsequently to give way to Erich Ribbeck.
So it had to get worse first before it could get better again – temporarily.
Photo: imago sport photo service
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11/11
The dismissal of Christian Wörns after an emergency brake led to the end in 1998 after the game had only turned around very late in the round of 16 against Mexico.
Between 2002 and 2014 they then reached at least the semi-finals four times in a row before losing out in the preliminary rounds in Russia and Qatar.
Photo: imago sport photo service / imago/Horstmüller
