Kai Havertz apologises after Germany's World Cup shootout defeat

Kai Havertz went straight to apology after Germany's penalty shootout defeat to Paraguay. Germany lost 1-1 on penalties after the match finished 1-1 in normal time at the Round of 32 stage, and Havertz had already equalised in the 54th minute before missing from the spot.

Havertz's response after the miss

"I'm speechless. My second World Cup, and we've messed up for the second time. The last few tournaments were a disaster. The only thing I can say is I'm sorry. We players need to take a long, hard look at ourselves. We're playing for a huge country with a rich football history," Kai Havertz told metro.co.uk.

The flatness of the quote matches the night. Havertz was Germany's highest-rated scorer at 7.5, and he still left with the burden of one of the missed penalties. He scored once in normal time, then failed to convert in the shootout, with Nick Woltemade and Jonathan Tah also missing from the spot.

Germany's players took the blame

Joshua Kimmich went even further in rejecting any attempt to spread responsibility away from the squad. Speaking to goal.com, he said: "We, the players on the field, messed it up, and we take responsibility for that. It wasn't the coach's fault, it wasn't the media's fault, it wasn't the referee's fault, it wasn't the opponent's fault. It was entirely our fault."

Kimmich also said, "We didn't play well against any of our opponents. We struggled badly in all three matches against teams that aren't world-class. That's a fact. We deserved to be eliminated." He finished with a 7.3 rating and completed 141 passes, which tells you how much of Germany's play still ran through him even in defeat.

There was another moment in the match that mattered. Jonathan Tah had a goal disallowed in extra-time by VAR for a foul by Waldemar Anton on Orlando Gill, so the game stayed level long enough to reach penalties.

Manuel Neuer, who returned from international retirement for the 2026 World Cup, also gave the night a farewell note. "It's extremely bitter for it to end like this," he said, and he made 2 saves in 120 minutes.

Julian Nagelsmann, who is not listed here as a linked entity, said he is available if the DFB wants him to continue. For now, though, the loudest message came from the players themselves. Germany's exit was not dressed up or deflected, and Havertz's apology sat alongside Kimmich's refusal to blame anyone else.

The next stage of the story belongs to the fallout. Germany are out in the Round of 32, Havertz has a missed shootout penalty on a night he also scored, and the squad have already made clear where they think the fault lies.