"It's part of the game that we're all extremely sad"

Julian Nagelsmann spoke in a calm voice, but the German national coach seemed emotionally upset. Loud party music blared from the speakers as Nagelsmann tried to somehow explain the hosts' European Championship exit against the once again unbeatable Spaniards. "It wasn't deserved today," said Nagelsmann on MagentaTV. "We invested more, but in the end they were the luckier ones."

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In the dressing room, Toni Kroos was also responsible for his farewell and Joshua Kimmich for the words of encouragement, as Nagelsmann reported. The 34-year-old Kroos experienced his last game as a professional on Friday evening in Stuttgart, and it ended in the most painful way possible. "We would have liked to have given him a nicer farewell because he deserved it," Nagelsmann said of Kroos. "He is simply a great guy with an extraordinary career, a role model for many."

The thousands of fans in the stands of the Stuttgart stadium and in the fan zones throughout the country were in tears. After three exhilarating weeks of goal festivals and thrilling matches, the dream of a fourth European Championship title is two steps away from the final. "The disappointment is huge, a home European Championship like this only comes once in a lifetime," said Kimmich. "There's not much we can blame ourselves for, except that we didn't take our chances. Bitter, very bitter."

"We all put everything into it to avoid losing. We were very close, so it's all the more bitter," said Kroos. "At the moment, the tournament loss is the main thing, because we all had a big goal together. That dream has been shattered to some extent, even if we realize in the next few days that we played a good tournament." It is part of the process that "we are all extremely sad".

However, the performances of recent weeks and months will help Germany. Nagelsmann's team has the potential with Jamal Musiala, who was not so influential against Spain for once, and Florian Wirtz, who was outstanding after coming on as a substitute. And on Friday evening, they also displayed virtues that have rarely been seen from the German national team at major tournaments of late, namely determination and competitiveness. The home European Championship may be over, but the 2026 World Cup in the USA looks promising for them.

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