Manuel Neuer ends his national team career for good after World Cup exit against Paraguay

Farewell after 128 international matches

Neuer was also one of the faces of the DFB team's early exits at the recent World Cup tournaments in 2018, 2022 and now 2026. The last knockout match won by a German team at a World Cup dates back to the final twelve years ago in Rio de Janeiro against Argentina. As was already the case in 2018 in Russia and 2022 in Qatar, the German side failed to reach the round of the last 16 teams for the third time in a row at the XXL tournament featuring 48 teams for the first time in America.

Goalscorer Kai Havertz was the first German player to face the microphone after the elimination. "Meine zweite WM, zweimal reingeschissen", he said on ZDF. Captain Joshua Kimmich ruled out a retirement: "Es gibt nicht viel zu sagen, mir fehlen auch bisschen die Worte." The 31-year-old announced that he wanted to keep playing for Germany: "Was ich niemals tun werde ist: Aufgeben." Kimmich is thus one of the few over-30 players in the squad alongside Neuer.

Nagelsmann wants to stay in charge

Unlike Neuer, Nagelsmann also has no plans to leave. The 38-year-old national team coach declared his willingness to remain in office while still at the Foxborough stadium. "Das ist ausgeschlossen", Nagelsmann said when asked about resigning. His contract with the German Football Association runs until after Euro 2028 – as does that of sporting director Rudi Völler. Völler backed Nagelsmann immediately after the exit: "Ich bin immer noch überzeugt davon, dass er der Richtige ist."

Reactions to the elimination in Germany were devastating. Record national team player Lothar Matthäus expects Nagelsmann to depart and a new national team coach to be appointed after the early World Cup exit. "Es gibt wahrscheinlich einiges aufzuarbeiten, auf dem Platz, außerhalb des Platzes", Matthäus told "Bild". Jürgen Klinsmann spoke of a "Blamage": "Die Art und Weise, wie wir heute Abend ausgeschieden sind, ist verheerend, ist eine Blamage, ist etwas, womit niemand, wirklich niemand gerechnet hat", he said in an interview on "ESPN".

Harsh criticism from Klinsmann and Matthäus

Jürgen Klopp also pushed back against speculation on "MagentaTV" that he himself could become a successor. "Es gibt nicht viel zu sagen, mir fehlen bisschen die Worte", said the long-time head coach of Borussia Dortmund and FC Liverpool. Matthäus criticized the performance in the Round of 16, but did not view it as an isolated incident: "Aber wir haben ja schon gegen Ecuador Katastrophe gespielt", the 65-year-old opined. Christoph Kramer demanded personnel consequences on "ZDF": "Dazu darf es niemals kommen."

The discussion over a possible coaching change ran parallel to the debate about the team's sporting future. Nagelsmann had succeeded Hansi Flick in September 2023. Völler described him as a "Wunschlösung" and the association's most important point of contact. "Wenn man in so einer Form ausgeschieden ist, werden es viele nicht verstehen", Völler said. "Ich finde immer noch, er ist ein absoluter Toptrainer."

The sporting analysis was sobering across the board. Germany had plenty of possession, but looked far from aggressive. Havertz said: "Wir sind natürlich auch alle enttäuscht." The team had set itself ambitious goals: "Jetzt wieder zu enttäuschen, ist natürlich kein schönes Gefühl." Per Mertesacker demanded: "Wir müssen uns einiges wieder hart arbeiten." Joshua Kimmich summed it up: "Fakt ist, dass wir das all den Menschen zu Hause nicht geben konnten."

Dispute over the disallowed Tah goal

Another point of contention was a refereeing decision in extra time. Following a corner, Jonathan Tah headed Germany into what looked like a 2:1 lead, but the goal was disallowed following video assistant referee intervention due to an alleged foul. "Das ist nicht nur ein Skandal, das ist ein Vollskandal", Nagelsmann said on "ZDF". On "MagentaTV" he had previously called the decision a "Witz". "MagentaTV" expert Patrick Ittrich disagreed: "Für mich ist das keine klare Fehlentscheidung vom Schiedsrichter." Mats Hummels also called for personnel consequences.

The match ended 3:4 on penalties – Germany's first-ever penalty shootout loss at a World Cup. Paraguayan goalkeeper Orlando Gill saved the spot kicks from Kai Havertz and Nick Woltemade and threw Jonathan Tah so off his game that the latter sent the ball high over the goal and into the Massachusetts evening sky. "Ich habe jeden Spieler, jeden Aspekt, jedes Detail analysiert, und Gott sei Dank konnte ich zwei Elfmeter halten, was für die Qualifikation entscheidend war", the 26-year-old told the newspaper "ABC".

Paraguay celebrates historic victory

While tens of thousands of fans in Paraguay celebrated the sensational win, Gill addressed a personal message to his homeland: "Diese besondere Auszeichnung ist für meinen Neffen, der schwer krank im Krankenhaus liegt." President Santiago Peña declared a national holiday after the qualification for the quarterfinals: "Paraguay gibt niemals auf! Feiertag, verdammt noch mal!" It is Paraguay's first World Cup appearance since 2010.

From a ratings perspective, the German team's final match at the tournament in North America was at least a success. An average of 17.57 million people watched the penalty shootout elimination on "ZDF"; the market share was 74.5 percent according to AGF Videoforschung. The peak viewership was reached during the 7:1 against Curaçao, with an average of 23.43 million viewers on ARD.

The international press landscape responded with headlines such as "WM-Fiasko für Deutschland", "Sensationell: Deutschland scheidet im Elfmeterschießen aus" and "Deutschland ist RAUS aus der WM nach der Niederlage im Elfmeterschießen gegen Paraguay". The "Daily Mail" spoke of the "größten Schock dieser WM bisher", while "L'Équipe" assessed the result as "die größte Überraschung der bisherigen Weltmeisterschaft". "La Repubblica" wrote: "Deutschland ist nicht mehr Deutschland."

Neuer himself had already announced his decision after the Euro 2024 quarter-final exit, but then returned for the World Cup. Now he declared: "Wenn man das Gesamte sieht: Ich bin nicht traurig. Aber ich bin nicht traurig aufgrund der gezeigten Leistung." The disappointment over the early elimination mixed for him with pride in what had been achieved – and the knowledge that the chapter is closed after 128 international matches.

The goalkeeper's return had triggered intense debate ahead of the World Cup. Nagelsmann defended his decision: "Er ist ja einer, der führen will, das zeigt er auch bei Bayern München." Baumann was also highlighted as a "Teamplayer" – the backup keeper had publicly sided with Neuer. In the end, the result was a sporting low point that raised both personnel and structural questions and turned attention already toward Euro 2028.