Germany Captain Joshua Kimmich Throws Entire Team Under The Bus After FIFA World Cup Debacle
FIFA World Cup 2026: Germany captain Joshua Kimmich refused to blame the referee after his team's embarrassing defeat against Paraguay in the Round of 32.
- Germany failed to reach the World Cup Round of 16 for the third consecutive time
- Germany lost to Paraguay in a penalty shootout after VAR controversy over a disallowed extra-time goal
- Kimmich rejected blaming the referee or VAR for Germany’s elimination, said his team simply lacked quality
For the third consecutive World Cup campaign, Germany failed to qualify for the knockout rounds of the tournament, this time suffering a humiliating defeat in a penalty shootout against Paraguay. The South Americans had qualified for the Round of 32 of the FIFA World Cup 2026 as one of the best third-placed teams in the group stage, making the defeat even harder to swallow. Germany captain Joshua Kimmich did not mince words when speaking to the media in the mixed zone after the match. While many felt that Germany defender Jonathan Tah's extra-time header was wrongly disallowed by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), Kimmich refused to blame the official or the drama of the shootout.
Kimmich took a straightforward stance when asked about his feelings regarding the elimination. For the German captain, the team simply failed to show the quality required to beat an opponent like Paraguay.
"Yes, I hope-of course I hope not," Kimmich said when asked if the result would prompt the resignation of Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann. "At the end of the day, we are the players on the pitch, and we should have the aspiration and the quality to be able to beat an opponent like Paraguay. With all due respect, but you mentioned it. I did not know if the worst third-placed team had advanced, but we must demand of ourselves to win that game."
READ | VAR Controversy Behind Germany's Shock Defeat To Paraguay Explained
On the VAR controversy involving Tah's disallowed goal, Kimmich insisted that Germany should have beaten Paraguay cleanly within 120 minutes, and failing to do so was the sole reason for their exit.
"No one should even think about blaming the referee or the penalty shootout today," he said. "If you cannot manage to win over 120 minutes, then you deserve to be eliminated. You cannot be dependent on luck against an opponent like that; you should have the quality in the team to beat them cleanly."
Round Of 32 Exit 'Awful': Kimmich
After Germany's group-stage exit from the World Cup in Qatar four years ago, Kimmich called it the "hardest day" of his career. The feeling of elimination against Paraguay was no different, with the Bayern Munich midfielder describing the exit as "awful."
He recalled how German teams of the past consistently reached the semi-finals and finals of major tournaments. He expressed deep disappointment at suffering early tournament exits for eight years, particularly now that he bears the captain's armband.
"Awful. It does not feel good," he admitted. "Of course, as I said earlier, as a child, when you watched the national team, it was always the semi-finals, finals, World Champions-always great successes. That really shaped you, to be passionate about the national team, and that is something you want to give and offer to the children and the people back home. Once again, we failed to spark any euphoria, to be a team on the pitch that people can identify with, because in the end, it is only about success and not about everything being rosy.
"It is also true that in these eight years, you naturally grow into your role and your responsibility. That is why it is even more significant to be knocked out as captain, when you carry a great responsibility for the group. I feel that responsibility, and we should all generally feel that responsibility-those of us who were on the pitch-and not look to blame someone else. In the end, we messed it up again because we could not beat the opponent," he concluded.
Germany
Paraguay