'Shock Twin' German Version of the '2701 Incident' Occurs! "Can't Trust the Association" → Hiring External Trainer → Conflict → Elimination in Round of 32

*This content was translated by AI.

As the German national team sank under the humiliating record of its first-ever World Cup tournament penalty shootout defeat, it was revealed that severe conflict occurred between the players and the association's official medical staff during the tournament. This behavior has been described as a perfect replica of the '2701 Incident' that rocked the South Korean national team in the 2022 Qatar World Cup, centered around Son Heung-min (34, Los Angeles FC).

On June 30 (Korean time), Germany played Paraguay at Boston Stadium in the United States in the Round of 32 match of the '2026 FIFA North American World Cup.' The game ended in a 1-1 draw before Germany suffered a shocking 3-4 defeat in the penalty shootout. With this result, Germany, which had aimed for a revival by advancing from the group stage for the first time since the 2014 Brazil World Cup after 12 years, left behind an indelible stain as the first team in history to lose a World Cup tournament match via penalty shootout.

At the heart of this historic disaster was the collapse of the internal system. On the 2nd (Korean time), German media outlet 'Sky Sports' reported that the German Football Association (DFB) had made a fatal mistake by dismissing Michael Deiß, a veteran physiotherapist who enjoyed deep trust from players earlier this year. According to the report, Deiß was a close associate of Sandro Wagner, the chief coach, and was highly trusted by the players. The DFB replaced him with internal staff but failed to quell player dissatisfaction.

According to local sources, German star players at the World Cup camp set up in the United States expressed extreme dissatisfaction with the care provided by the official medical team. Ultimately, key players led by captain Joshua Kimmich (31, Bayern Munich) took unprecedented action by refusing the association's support and directly calling in external personnel.

The person urgently deployed to the site at the players' request was Jürgen Ji Gel-re (Dr.), founder of a renowned rehabilitation center in the Stuttgart region. Ji Gel-re (Dr.) resided in a separate space near the official team hotel and was confirmed to have secretly treated more than 10 key German players, including Kimmich.

This internal division and failure in conditioning were directly reflected in performance. Germany showed serious physical decline starting from the second group stage match against Côte d'Ivoire and collapsed powerlessly again in the Round of 32 match against Paraguay. Sky Sports pointed out that "both matches recorded the worst competition success rate in history."

Furthermore, Sky Sports collectively reported that "the discord between the association and the players over the medical system was the decisive spark for the disaster." Having blindly followed the nightmare of Qatar and ending its first tournament challenge in 12 years in vain, the German Football Association is expected to face strong demands for sweeping personnel reforms across the entire national team operation system.

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*This content was translated by AI.