The 2018 World Cup was a national disaster for the Germans, who are back with a blend of stars old and new and an experienced manager tying it all together.
In 2018, Germany followed the infamous trend of embarrassing World Cup title defenses, becoming the fourth title holder in the last five World Cups to not make it out of the group stage. Despite the opening game loss to Mexico, the Germans bounced back for three points against Sweden to go into the final matchday with plenty of hope against South Korea. What ensued was a dramatic 2–0 loss—thanks to two stoppage-time goals from South Korea—that saw the European giants go crashing out of the group stage in what was a national disgrace.