Shockwaves were felt all across in Berlin, Cologne, Munich and Mumbai too, as the football World Cup took an unexpected turn on Wednesday night. Dr (PhD) Juergen Morhard, Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany in the city, was watching the Germany vs South Korea FIFA World Cup 2018 match at a public viewing hosted by The German Consulate and the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce. The Koreans sent the German giants careening out of the competition, making it the first time since 1938 that Germany went out of the contest in the first stage. There’s always a first time for everything but this is a first that has left German supporters with that ashes-on-the-tongue feeling. Morhard said a trifle philosophically when asked about a reaction, “I was disappointed about the early tournament exit. But this is sport! In sport, as in life, there are always ups and downs.”

Key takeaways
Looking beyond that one defeat he rationalised, “I have to say though that the German team did not look nor played like serious contenders for the World Cup in all three group matches.” Morhard analysed, "Luck was not on the side of the German footballers, many chances were missed overall and one saw several missed shots at goal in the South Korea match, the fluidity was missing.” Even as football experts are dissecting the defeat threadbare, there has been an avalanche of criticism about German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer’s tactic of joining the offense, leaving the goal bereft as a desperate Germany looked for an equaliser out of regulation time. One of the kinder comments has been, ‘Neuer has always been a loose cannon.’