The defending champions crashed out of the tournament after losing 2-0 to South Korea in Kazan on Wednesday. This is the first time since 1938 that Germany has failed to qualify from the group stage of the World Cup.
"Dear fans, we are just as disappointed as you are… We apologize that we did not play like world champions. Therefore, we have quite deserved losing our title… We congratulate Sweden and Mexico on reaching playoffs, and South Korea on their yesterday's victory. We thank Russia for their hospitality," the team posted on their official Twitter account.
Your support across the globe was incredible. We celebrated together in 2014, but sometimes in football you have to accept defeat and admit that your opponents were better.
— Germany (@DFB_Team_EN) 28 июня 2018 г.
Congrats to #SWE and #MEX, and of course to #KOR on their win.
Thanks to Russia for your hospitality! pic.twitter.com/g5yrMtl3GS
READ MORE: South Korea Crushes Germany 2-0, Defending Champions Fail to Enter Playoffs
They added in another post that sports included "defeats and the admission that the opponents were better."
The 2018 FIFA World Cup kicked off on June 14 and will continue until July 15, with the matches being played in 11 cities across Russia.
