Thomas Müller has reacted on Instagram to Germany’s elimination at the World Cup. The 33-year-old attacker of Bayern Munich had a word of thanks for the fans after the 4-2 win against Costa Rica. His words seemed to indicate a farewell to the national team, but the attacker does not talk about that in his message on Instagram. He does indicate that he needs some time to put ‘everything in perspective’.
“The pain is very deep,” Müller begins his message. “Deeper than usual. It was a wave of emotions, anticipation, ambition, politics, rejection, an early defeat, hope and recognition after the second game,” he sums up. The team of national coach Hansi Flick started with a 1-2 defeat against Japan, after which the Germans recovered against Spain (1-1). In the last group match, a victory was not enough to convert, as Japan beat Spain (1-2). “We were knocked out – the total catastrophe.”
Müller indicates that there were more ambiguities than usual this World Cup. “There were many contradictions. This World Cup is more difficult to analyze and it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what happened. How should we evaluate these achievements and results? The big question of life: what is the reason? Despite all the experiences with great successes and also devastating defeats, this time I will need some time to put everything in perspective.” Müller seems to hint at the end of his career in the national team, for which he has played 121 times to date.
“A big word of thanks goes out to everyone who has supported us as a team and me personally in recent weeks. Even in difficult moments! See you soon,” concluded Müller, who experienced his absolute highlight with Germany in 2014. During the World Cup in Brazil Argentina was defeated in the final (1-0), after the host country was humiliated 1-7 in their own Maracanã in the semi-finals. Müller made the opening goal in that match and made a major contribution to the world title with his five goals over the entire tournament. In 2018 and therefore also in 2022, the global final tournaments, with eliminations in the group stage, were disastrous.