False hope and schadenfreude: Familiar feelings for Germany after another World Cup flop

Another World Cup, another early exit.

Germany should be getting used to disappointment, but it doesn’t make it any less painful for a traditional soccer heavyweight that had been tentatively hoping for a fifth World Cup title to restore lost pride.

Germany did manage to survive the group stage for the first time since winning the trophy in 2014, but it’s little consolation after Monday’s loss to unheralded Paraguay on penalties sent the team home after the first knockout game.

“We messed it up,” Joshua Kimmich told reporters after the match in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

It was a familiar feeling for the Germany captain who also struggled for explanations after the team’s group-stage exit at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

“As a child, when you watched the national team during tournaments, it was always semifinals, finals, or world champions. There was always lots of success. You grew up with that, cheering them on,” the 31-year-old Kimmich said Monday, when he apologized for the team failing to meet expectations.

“All of us who were on the pitch should feel that, rather than looking to blame someone else. We blew it,” Kimmich said in comments reported by dpa.

Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann is in the firing line after some contentious calls — particularly after recalling veteran goalkeeper Manuel Neuer from international retirement just before the tournament after months of denials.

The 40-year-old Neuer failed to justify his inclusion at the expense of Hoffenheim’s Oliver Baumann, and was arguably at fault for Ecuador’s winning goal in the last group game.

“I gave it my all,” Neuer said.

Nagelsmann finally bowed to pressure and gave forward Deniz Undav his first start against Paraguay, but the move didn’t pay off as the Kurdish Yazidi player was unable to add to his three goals and two assists from his first two games as a substitute.

Nagelsmann was also criticized for not playing forward Nick Woltemade at all until he sent him on with extra time looming against Paraguay. Woltemade was among three players who missed in the penalty shootout.

Nagelsmann had raised expectations by saying Germany was aiming to win the title. Ultimately, his team failed to show any justification for such hopes.

Germany played four games at the World Cup, winning two with victories over debutant Curaçao and Ivory Coast, before the losses to Ecuador and Paraguay.

While Paraguay’s win was joyously celebrated on the streets of its capital, Asunción, it was considered a major shock — few German fans knew any of the Paraguayan players before the match, and they were already looking forward to a likely Round of 16 meeting with France, which plays Sweden on Tuesday.

“You have to beat such a team,” Neuer said of Paraguay. “That’s a fact when you want to measure yourself against teams like France.”

Nagelsmann has vowed to stay on as coach, though he was also criticized for his prickly responses to questions after the game.

“I’m still convinced that he’s probably the right one to continue,” Germany team director Rudi Völler said. “It’s not only up to me.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz illustrated the disconnect between the German team’s hopes and reality better than most when he wrote on social media, “What a match, @DFB_Team! You thrilled our country with your commitment and team spirit at this World Cup. We’re proud of you.”

Merz was quickly mocked for his post on X, where many users asked which match he was referring to. The words “which match” began trending.

“I honestly don’t know which was worse. The match or this analysis,” FDP politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann wrote.

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Paraguay's Fabian Balbuena (5) looks on as German players react during a penalty shootout at the end of during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Germany and Paraguay in Foxborough, Mass., near Boston, Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Germany's Jamal Musiala (10) and Malick Thiaw (24) walk off the field after losing to Paraguay in a shootout during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match in Foxborough, Mass., near Boston, Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Germany's Nick Woltemade (11) walks off the field after losing to Paraguay in a shootout during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match in Foxborough, Mass., near Boston, Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann claps hands to supporters after losing the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Germany and Paraguay in Foxborough, Mass., near Boston, Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

A Germany fan reacts at the end of the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Germany and Paraguay in Foxborough, Mass., near Boston, Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

MADRID (AP) — Around 1 million immigrants in Spain have sought to legalize their status after the Southern European nation launched a measure earlier this year to integrate foreigners living and working in the country without authorization.

The window to apply for the program, which was announced in January and kicked off in April, was set to close Tuesday.

It offers immigrants without legal status a one-year, renewable residence permit if they have spent five months living in the country and have a clean criminal record.

Here's a look at the immigration measure by the numbers.

That's how many applications the Spanish government had received as of June 12 from immigrants seeking work and residency permits under the temporary program.

The government originally estimated about 500,000 foreigners living in Spain without authorization could benefit, but think tanks and the Spanish police placed the estimate closer to a million people.

Immigration experts and analysts expect the final tally to easily exceed a million applicants.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, one of Europe’s prominent progressive leaders, called the measure “an act of justice and a necessity,” arguing that people already living and working in Spain should “do so under equal conditions” and pay taxes.

The policy contrasts starkly with ratcheted-up deportation efforts taking place in other parts of the European Union and in the United States.

The government's estimate of how many applications were successfully processed by mid June, with applicants set to receive temporary residence and work permits. The final numbers will be higher, as the government has three months to process all applications submitted by June 30.

The share of applicants who are Colombian nationals. Colombians represent one of the largest immigrant groups in Spain, with upward of 980,000 Colombian-born nationals living in the country, according to the National Statistics Institute.

Moroccan nationals made up 14% of applicants, followed by Venezuelans at 10% and Peruvians at 9%, the government said.

Key sectors of the Spanish economy, including agriculture, tourism and the service sector, depend on immigrants from Latin America and Africa.

Spanish residents who were born outside the country. Spain’s population has grown considerably in recent decades, with around 10 million people in the country of 50 million having been born elsewhere.

Many are from Colombia, Venezuela and Morocco, having fled violence or political instability, or seeking better economic opportunities.

The number of times Spain has previously undertaken mass legalization measures for immigrants living and working illegally in the country.

The first three times were under Socialist Party Prime Minister Felipe González starting in 1986, but conservative leader José Aznar's government also oversaw two such measures in the 2000s.

This time around, many more immigrants have applied. In the 2005 measure, the previous largest such instance, 576,500 immigrants had their status legalized. That invited intense public debate and scrutiny in the country.

FILE - Migrants queue at a public service office to obtain paperwork needed to apply for Spain's immigration amnesty, in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat near Barcelona, Spain, on April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti, File)