German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has also fallen foul of Germany’s World Cup elimination by Paraguay, after stumbling into a social media debacle following a communications blunder.In the minutes after the Germans were eliminated on penalties for the first time in their World Cup history, a post from Merz’s official X account was published, reading: “Even if elimination hurts: what a game. With your commitment and team spirit at this World Cup,” the post continued, addressing the beaten players, “you have thrilled our country. We are proud of you.”Merz was widely ridiculed for missing the mood. Germany last won the World Cup in 2014, but have been on an unprecedented run of failure in the years since.They were eliminated at the group stage in 2018, then again in 2022, and while they did advance to the knockout stages this time, finishing first in a group containing Curacao, Ivory Coast and Ecuador, the last-32 defeat to Paraguay might arguably be the lowest moment within those barren years.Could Klopp replace Nagelsmann after World Cup elimination?Cerys Jones and Mark CritchleyGermans were not thrilled by their team’s World Cup performances. They were certainly not proud of them, either, and were quick to respond to Merz’s post. Among the most popular responses were users accusing Chancellor Merz of being “detached” or, as is common among European leaders, using football to communicate with voters.