Manuel Neuer weighs in on Germany’s disappointing defeat to England

The Germans will be kicking themselves after another early exit from a major tournament despite a team loaded with talent. Germany and Bayern Munich captain Manuel Neuer wasn’t very happy with his team’s performance and laments the big chances missed that let England get away with the game.

Germany started strong and had managed to create early chances which were stopped shy of the box. However, when the big chances came, the German forwards failed to find the net.

“We had scoring opportunities, Thomas Müller could have made it 1:1. The English were very strong, we were looking for the pass in behind. A lot of the action took place in our half, which was not good,” Neuer said as captured by Tz.

Post the 15th minute, Germany slowly took their foot off the gas and let an overwhelmed England creep back into the game. Timo Werner was completely marked out of the game . He hardly looked to make runs and use his pace to give his team an option upfront. That affected the German ball progression as ball movements dried up past the final third, despite Müller’s efforts to draw defenders away and create space for Kai Havertz.

Drawing praise for Mats Hummels who had a massive clearance, and weighing in on Germany’s attack, Neuer said, ”We lacked possession a bit, the English were better there. We defended very well. Going forward, it was really hard today.”

Photo by Marvin Ibo Guengoer/Getty Images

The biggest and most “optic” takeaway however, will be Thomas Müller’s big miss to level the scores and seize Germany’s chance to comeback. “That was a huge opportunity for us. The disappointment is huge. Obviously it’s difficult for our players to do anything with the big central defenders. The game was on the brink, if Thomas Müller makes it, the score is 1: 1. The game was on the brink, Timo Werner and Thomas Müller had the chances,” Neuer said.

Müller’s miss — while game changing — is quite a harsh one. It must be noted before scapegoating Müller that this German team could have had several chances had the lineup and tactics been better. Strikers miss chances and if it happens to be with the only chance in a knockout game, its never pretty. Having said that, the loss is never on the striker alone. Chin up Thomas!

Photo by Marvin Ibo Guengoer/Getty Images

With this historic defeat to England, Joachim Löw’s era at the helm of the German national team comes to an end. While he’s had more downs than ups in the recent past, there can be no question about his legacy as a national team coach and shaping up nearly a decade of German International football.

“After the final whistle, I looked towards the center line and the coaching bench and it was a sad feeling. Jogi is a great person, I think he shaped a great era. It’s a shame and very sad that it ends like this today,” the captain concluded on the end of Löw’s long career as the German coach.