Kimmich after the World Cup debacle: “We were completely deserving of our elimination!” | OneFootball

The German national team’s World Cup exit has hit hard. After the bitter defeat in the penalty shootout against Paraguay, Joshua Kimmich spoke candidly and did not hold back on self-criticism.

For the German national team, the 2026 World Cup has come to a surprisingly early end. After 120 hard-fought minutes, the DFB squad lost to Paraguay in a penalty shootout in the Round of 16, thus bowing out of the tournament in the very first knockout round.

While many players fought back tears immediately after the final whistle, captain Joshua Kimmich faced questions from the media—and analyzed the elimination with brutal honesty.

“It feels terrible.”

The Bayern Munich pro made no attempt to sugarcoat the defeat. “It feels terrible and not good,” Kimmich explained immediately after the game in the mixed zone.

His analysis of the entire tournament was even more blunt. “We didn’t play at our best against any opponent. Three times we had major problems against non-world-class teams. That’s a fact. We were completely deserving of our elimination.”

In doing so, the 31-year-old took responsibility not only for himself but for the entire team.

Clear self-criticism after a disappointing tournament

Photo: IMAGO

Kimmich had already called for improvements following the loss to Ecuador in the final group stage match. At the time, he had identified the high number of mistakes and the numerous goals conceded as the biggest areas for improvement.

Against Paraguay, however, the German national team once again failed to address these issues. Germany appeared uninspired for long stretches and struggled to create offensive opportunities against the underdog. Although Kimmich confidently converted his penalty kick in the decisive shootout, it ultimately wasn’t enough to prevent an early World Cup exit.

Kimmich also made it clear that the players alone must take responsibility for this: “We’re playing here to make Germany proud. As a child, I always watched Germany reach the semifinals and the final. We weren’t able to give that to the viewers at home. I think people in Germany need something to be proud of right now—unfortunately, that’s not the national team. We, the players on the field, messed it up, and we take responsibility for that. It wasn’t the coach’s fault, it wasn’t the media’s fault, it wasn’t the referee’s fault, it wasn’t the opponent’s fault. It was entirely our fault.”

For Kimmich, this continues a disappointing run at the World Cup. Following early exits in the group stage in 2018 in Russia and 2022 in Qatar, the 2026 World Cup also ends without the hoped-for success.

Instead of looking for excuses, the captain demonstratively stood up for the team and spoke openly about their disappointing performances throughout the tournament.

With his candid analysis, Kimmich made it clear that, in his view, the elimination was not an unfortunate slip-up, but rather the result of an overall disappointing World Cup performance by the German national team.