Germany’s World Cup exit: Kimmich refuses to blame VAR row after shock Paraguay defeat

For the third straight World Cup, Germany crashed out before the knockout stage, this time enduring a crushing penalty shootout defeat to Paraguay.

The South Americans had reached the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 after finishing among the best third-placed teams in the group stage, making Germany’s elimination even more painful. Germany captain Joshua Kimmich did not hold back while speaking to reporters in the mixed zone after the game. Although many believed defender Jonathan Tah’s extra-time header was wrongly ruled out following a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review, Kimmich refused to point fingers at the officials or the penalty shootout.

‘VAR row no excuse’

Kimmich gave a clear and direct response when asked how he viewed Germany’s exit. The captain said the team simply did not produce the level of performance needed to overcome a side like Paraguay.

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“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.”

Addressing the controversy over Tah’s disallowed goal, Kimmich maintained that Germany should have finished the job within 120 minutes, saying their inability to do so was the real reason they were going home.

“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.”

Kimmich calls exit awful

After Germany’s group-stage elimination at the World Cup in Qatar four years earlier, Kimmich had described it as the “hardest day” of his career. The latest exit against Paraguay brought back the same emotions, with the Bayern Munich midfielder calling the defeat “awful.”

He reflected on how previous German teams regularly made it to the semi-finals and finals of major tournaments. He said it was deeply disappointing that the national side had now suffered early exits for eight years, especially with him serving as captain.

“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.”

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“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.