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Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann has identified the major factor he believes contributed to his side’s elimination from the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Speaking after the match, Nagelsmann admitted that Germany’s attacking build-up lacked the speed required to break down Paraguay’s defence.

The German manager said his players were too slow in progressing the ball, allowing Paraguay to remain comfortable throughout long spells of the contest.

He also noted that his side failed to deliver enough balls into dangerous attacking areas, making it difficult to create consistent scoring opportunities.

Germany’s World Cup campaign came to an end after suffering a 4-3 penalty shoot-out defeat to Paraguay following a 1-1 draw in their Round of 32 clash on Monday.

The defeat was sealed after Kai Havertz, Nick Woltemade and Jonathan Tah failed to convert their penalties during the shoot-out.

Reflecting on the performance, Nagelsmann said: “Our build-up play was too slow. We took far too long to make Paraguay chase the game.

“There’s a real sense of dejection in the dressing room. Unfortunately, that’s how football works sometimes; some teams can win with simple means. And you have to defend against those means consistently,” Nagelsmann said.

“We took too long to make our opponent chase the game. We could have put the ball into the box far more often.

“We have to settle the game before it gets to [penalties]. Our build-up play was too slow,” he added.f

Germany’s exit marks an early end to their World Cup journey, while Paraguay advance to the next stage of the competition.

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