01/07/2026 - 8:27 GMT+2
After the national team’s embarrassing World Cup exit, Chancellor Friedrich Merz caused astonishment with a post on the social media platform X. The chancellor praised the team: "Even though going out hurts: what a game. With your commitment and team spirit at this World Cup you have thrilled our country. We are proud of you."
Merz's post drew heavy criticism in the comments. Comedian Oliver Pocher also weighed in under the chancellor's post on Instagram. "I hope the account has been hacked. But it fits the situation in this country," he wrote. There was "nothing that could be glossed over" about the defeat, no one had been thrilled. Germany had embarrassed itself and produced a "catastrophic performance". If a chancellor writes such a completely wrong analysis on Instagram in the middle of the night, Pocher argued, you can only worry about how he assesses other issues.
Germany captain Kimmich summed up the mood after the World Cup exit as follows: "I know Germany from watching television as a child: it was always semi-finals, finals. Of course you want to give that to children and people now, to the current generation as well, and the fact is that we were unable to give that to everyone back home. That is very, very sad, especially at a time when it would do us extremely good in Germany to have something we can be proud of. Sadly, the national team is not that right now, and we all bear responsibility for that."
