Germany suffers first loss; Nagelsmann denies lack of fighting spirit! German media: If this continues, they will be eliminated soon.

Written by Han Bing. Germany, with nine regular starters in the final group match, took an early lead by scoring at 1:49 but were overturned 2-1 by Ecuador. When Magenta TV host Kerner asked if they lacked fighting spirit due to already being group leaders, it angered coach Nagelsmann: "Stop asking such pointless questions. Why wouldn't we want to go all out?" However, the supposedly "spirited" German team repeatedly made mistakes under Ecuador's high press, and Neuer's fatal error was just a microcosm of the team's poor performance.

German media were in uproar over the loss, with some saying "This is a bitter defeat; if this continues, Germany will be eliminated soon." The Deutsche Zeitung wrote: "Given this trend, the championship is beyond reach for Germany." The Frankfurter Allgemeine lamented: "Germany's luck has run out; they now feel besieged on all sides." Kicker was relatively moderate but stressed that inconsistent performances would affect knockout-stage results.

In front of 80,663 spectators, an almost full-strength Germany turned in their worst performance of this World Cup so far. The Süddeutsche Zeitung directly asserted: "This match completely shattered Germany's hopes of returning to New Jersey for the final." More broadly, there are concerns about how such a fragile defense can cope with stronger opponents in the knockout stages.

Looking only at the starting lineup, Germany indeed did not relax due to already securing first place: the starting eleven were still regulars, with only two forced changes due to injuries. Rüdiger replaced Schlottbeck, who withdrew injured, and Raum replaced Brown, who was troubled by adductor muscle issues.

At 1:49, Sané scored the second-fastest World Cup goal in German history, only behind Lehner's goal in the 1934 third-place match. However, the goal sparked controversy: Pavlovic had his foot high during the buildup, but American female referee Penso signaled the goal was valid. Just seven minutes later, Ecuador counterattacked after winning the ball in the frontcourt, and Angulo equalized for his team.

After halftime, Nagelsmann substituted the underperforming Pavlovic, and in the 60th minute brought on Undav, Beier, and Giaffer. The situation did not improve. In the 78th minute, Plata scored the winning goal by beating Neuer, who had made a poor rush out. It was Ecuador's first-ever victory against a World Cup champion, earning them a crucial three points. With four points from three group matches, they advanced as one of the eight best third-placed teams. The New Jersey stadium turned into a sea of yellow. Germany not only missed the chance to equal their record of 12 consecutive wins but also suffered their first loss to a South American team in 24 years since the 2002 World Cup final defeat to Brazil.

For Germany, who had already secured top spot in the group after two rounds, the loss did not affect their knockout-stage position, but it drew widespread criticism from domestic and international media.

Germany have now conceded in nine consecutive World Cup matches; the last time they kept a clean sheet was in the 2014 final, a 1-0 win over Argentina. Even against new entrant Curaçao, whom they thrashed 7-0, they could not keep a clean sheet. Since their first World Cup group stage in 1954, Germany have played 56 group matches across 19 tournaments, losing only nine. After the 1990 World Cup, Germany lost just one of their 21 group matches over seven tournaments, but in the last three tournaments, they have lost four out of nine group games. Since 2018, Germany have lost group matches in three consecutive World Cups; the previous two ended in group-stage exits, and in all three they conceded in every match. Ecuador had failed to score from 39 shots in their previous two group matches, but scored with their first shot against Germany – that is the real problem.

In the German media's post-match ratings of 12 players, only Kimmich, Rüdiger, Jonathan Tah, and Sané received passing marks. Goalkeeper Neuer, midfielders Pavlovic and Nmecha, and attackers Musiala and Wirtz all got the lowest score of 5. Ecuador made 371 high-intensity presses throughout the match, the fourth most in this World Cup. Nmecha was dispossessed under pressure, leading to the first goal. Ecuador's high press prevented Germany from building effective attacks, and even Undav's introduction did not help.

ARD commentator and former player Bastian Schweinsteiger said Germany "deserved" the loss: "Germany is not world-class, nor a weak team – they are somewhere in between. The team struggles especially against physically strong, hard-tackling, clean off-ball moving, and solid defensive teams." MagentaTV commentator Jürgen Klopp criticized Germany for lacking clarity and stability: "It was clear that one team fought with their backs against the wall, while the other was still trying to find its rhythm."

Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann also criticized himself: "Careless positional mistakes after taking the lead caused us to lose control. We should have been calmer. But we allowed the opponent to regain their rhythm; we were too casual after scoring." Captain Kimmich admitted to too many errors and stressed that Germany cannot afford any more losses: "We can't concede goals in every match. We must reduce mistakes." Germany's opponent in the round of 16 remains to be determined, but if that opponent also employs Ecuador's high press, how will Germany respond?