It was ecstasy for England but the end of an era for Germany after their 2-0 Euro 2020 loss to exit the tournament at Wembley.
Gareth Southgate’s side struck late with Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane to move into the quarter-finals.
And with it came the end of Joachim Low’s 15-year reign in charge of Die Mannschaft.
Former Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack described the defeat as “sobering” and that he felt “powerless”, while accusing Germany of making it “too easy” for the Three Lions and criticising Low for “waiting so long with changes”.
As for the newspapers, Der Tagesspiegel’s headline was, “15 years as national coach – that was the Löw era”, while adding below: “Germany now only watches the European Championship – and that is not enough.
“Joachim Löw’s era could not have ended more gloomy. The farewell as national coach in his 198th game was indeed a dignified one over a long season, but the demands on a German national football team are higher than being eliminated in the round of 16.”
“Empty, frustrated and depressed,” that’s how Bild saw the defeat for Germany.
With Thomas Muller’s big miss at 1-0, Süddeutsche Zeitung’s headline read: “Radio Müller loses frequency”.
Die Welt added: “After 15 long years the emptiness comes,” and despite a collection of outstanding young talents, Der Spiegel are not optimistic about the future, they believe: “Löw leaves, but the problems remain”.
Hansi Flick now takes over and will be met with a huge challenge of convincing the likes of Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, who levelled delusion against the national team: “The self-deception has been exposed.”
They continued: “Last Exit Wembley. After 15 years, the era of Joachim Löw has come to an end in one of the most traditional places in football. The national team presented a disappointing performance in a comparatively weak round of 16 duel.”
While another Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung headline read: “England wake from German nightmare”.
The term “self-deception” was also used by Bild, with the paper also tearing into the German players in their player ratings with their system of one to six with one as the best and six the worst.
Antonio Rudiger and Timo Werner picked up fives, while Kai Havertz and Manuel Neuer impressed in a losing effort with twos.
As for England, Bukayo Saka was handed a four as the worst player for the hosts, with a two for Raheem Sterling, Harry Kane, Luke Shaw, John Stones, Harry Maguire, Kalvin Phillips and Jordan Pickford.
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