Julian Nagelsmann was highly critical of the refereeing after Germany’s elimination by Paraguay in the World Cup Round of 32. The reason was the disallowed goal by Ta in extra time, following a VAR review, for an offensive foul on goalkeeper Hill.

“It’s a scandal that they called the foul; it’s a real scandal. There are games you have to win by any means necessary, and we would have won it by any means necessary,” said the German coach, who nevertheless admitted that his team didn’t rise to the occasion.

“It was very difficult because Paraguay played very defensively, and we didn’t give enough. When you’re eliminated from the World Cup after playing Paraguay, it’s very bitter. If you don’t score a lot of goals, it’s not enough. It’s very painful. Being eliminated in the first round isn’t good enough for German soccer. This is our third consecutive early elimination, so we probably no longer belong among the top-tier teams. “I’m disappointed,” he emphasized.

At the same time, when asked about his future, he made it clear that he has no intention of resigning. “I’m not the type to give up. This isn’t the first time this has happened, and there are certain things today that need to change. But if the federation wants me to continue, I will continue. I understand the workings of soccer; I know how the industry operates. I know that many people would like me to leave, but I’d very much like to continue if the federation wants me to. They spoke to me politely, they consoled me; they’re not going to offer me a contract extension two minutes after I lost that match. They’re not going to talk to me right after the defeat. If we conducted a survey in Germany today, people wouldn’t speak highly of me. But in soccer, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose—it’s always been that way. We didn’t do much in this tournament to make people cheer, but I’m very confident that we could have done a better job.”

*photo source: AP