German coach decries VAR call but says round of 32 exit ‘not enough’

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann slammed the referee’s decision to disallow Jonathan Tah’s apparent extra-time goal on Monday before his side eventually crashed out of the World Cup to Paraguay on penalties in the round of 32.

At the same time, he added it was unacceptable for a four-time World Cup champion to let the contest reach that point.

“Of course you could say we should have solved (Paraguay’s defense) differently, but it was a legitimate goal. It’s a complete joke that it was disallowed,” Nagelsmann said in his post-match press conference, via an interpretation.

“But in the end, to sum it up, if you’re eliminated in the first knockout round of such a big tournament with so many teams, it’s clearly not enough for German football.”

Germany’s downward trend has lasted far longer than Nagelsmann’s three-year tenure. And while his squad technically halted a stretch of two World Cups without reaching the knockout phase in the expanded 48-team format, the Germans still failed to make the last 16, as did the 2018 and 2022 sides.

Nagelsmann, 38, who broke through as a manager at TSG Hoffenheim a decade ago, recently saw his national-team contract extended through the 2028 European championship tournament. And despite the indignity of the result for a team with such heritage, he isn’t considering resignation.

“I’m not one to run away,” Nagelsmann said. “It’s not the first time. It’s been happening for a while now, that we’ve been delivering tournaments like this.

“There are certainly a few fundamental things that I don’t want to go into now, that one has to change in whatever situation. But I’m not one of those people who sits here and says, ‘I’m (resigning) just because we’ve been eliminated.’ Rather, if the DFB (German Football Association) wants me to continue, then I will continue.”

Tah appeared to head Germany in front in the 102nd minute when he reached Nathaniel Brown’s corner at the back post and powered it beyond goalkeeper Orlando Gill.

However, referee Jalal Jayed was summoned to the replay monitor by lead VAR Tatiana Guzman. After rewatching the play, he wiped off the goal, ruling Waldemar Anton fouled Gill to free up space for Tah’s header at the back post. Replays showed minimal contact between the two, though Anton did purposefully stand in front of Gill.

Tah would later miss well high on Germany’s sixth kick from the spot in a wild shootout, one where Paraguay failed twice to seal the event before Jose Canale converted after Tah’s miss. Germany’s Kai Havertz and Nick Woltemade also had their penalties saved.

“I don’t blame the penalty taker,” Nagelsmann said, “because what’s important is that we have players who want to take the ball and shoot. Even great players have missed penalties, just like great players did today. In the end, taking a penalty is always just the tip of the iceberg.”

–Ian Nicholas Quillen, Field Level Media