BRISBANE, Australia—Two-time champion Germany failed to reach the knockout stage for the first time ever at the Women’s World Cup after being held to a 1–1 draw by South Korea in a tense group finale.
Morocco’s 1–0 win over Colombia in Perth added pressure on a German team that then needed to beat South Korea in Brisbane to advance.
The last two group-stage games of the tournament kicked off simultaneously Thursday night on opposite sides of Australia.
Germany pushed forward in search of the winning goal, knowing the equation required to advance. Led by the head of captain Alexandra Popp, the Germans created numerous scoring opportunities but couldn’t find the winner.
Colombia finished atop Group H and Morocco took second place with six points, a remarkable turnaround after being routed 6–0 by Germany in its debut game at the tournament. No. 2-ranked Germany, finalists at the 2022 Euros, finished with four points.
South Korea struck in the sixth minute when a defense-splitting pass from Lee Young-ju found Cho So-hyun, who produced a calm finish after a perfectly timed run into open space.
In the 42nd, Popp equalized for Germany with a towering header off a cross from Svenja Huth.
Germany chased the winning goal throughout the second half. The Germans had a would-be winning goal from Popp overturned by VAR in the 57th. Just a few minutes later, Popp went close to scoring with another header but was denied by the crossbar.
Germany’s final scoring opportunities came in the 11th and 12th minutes of stoppage time when two shots from Sydney Lohmann missed wide and high.
Germany, the second-ranked team in the world, failed to advance from the group stage for the first time in nine appearances in the Women’s World Cup.
South Korea finished in last place in the group with one point but can take away something from the tournament after holding the two-time champions to a draw.
“We need some time to process what has happened and to be able to find some confidence again. At this stage, we know that our squad is good, but we were not good enough in these last two games.” — Alexandra Popp, Germany forward.
As third and fourth place finishers in the group, Germany and South Korea will each be heading home.
Colombia will face Jamaica in Melbourne, while Morocco will head to Adelaide to take on France in the round-of-16.
