Hansi Flick’s Germany learned that they cannot trust each other

One question dominated the Germany mixed zone: What the hell had happened out there?

Germany's goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is dejected at the end of the World Cup group E soccer match between Germany and Japan, at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2022. Japan won 2-2.(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

There were many different answers in the Germany section of the Khalifa International Stadium mixed zone, but the question was always the same: What the hell had happened out there?

It’s one thing to play badly and lose. You get what you deserve, you move on. To play well — or at least, well enough to win — for three-quarters of a match but somehow find yourself in a “horror scenario” at the final whistle, as Thomas Muller put it, is much harder to take.