“You’ve inspired us,” read a message posted by Chancellor Friedrich Merz on X immediately following the German men’s national soccer team’s lackluster performance and premature exit from the FIFA World Cup. The post is now widely regarded as a significant communication blunder with ongoing repercussions.
Following another early departure from the tournament, social media was flooded with comments describing the team’s effort as “helpless, frustrating, and second-rate.” In Berlin, the disappointment among fans was palpable early Tuesday morning after the team was eliminated by Paraguay in a penalty shootout.
The Federal Chancellery’s reaction arrived in the middle of the night, directly after the match concluded. Chancellor Merz’s post praised the team, stating, “Even though the elimination hurts: What a game! With your dedication and team spirit at this World Cup, you’ve inspired our country. We’re proud of you.” Many citizens were left confused, questioning whether the Chancellor had actually watched the match that roughly 16 million Germans stayed up until 2 a.m. to witness.
The post faced scathing feedback, including criticism from Moscow, where Kirill Dmitriev, an associate of Vladimir Putin, wrote that “Merz is good at repeatedly fostering failure.” European Parliament lawmaker Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann remarked that she was unsure which was more disappointing: the team’s actual performance or the Chancellor’s tone-deaf response.
The Chancellor’s Office later attributed the incident to a “coordination error,” describing the situation as “unfortunately very annoying.” Media reports from Berlin suggested that multiple drafts had been prepared ahead of the match, and a young social media assistant inadvertently published the wrong version during the night. Bild, Germany’s largest tabloid, dedicated a full page to the fallout, headlining it, “Anger over Chancellor’s own goal after World Cup exit.”
On Wednesday, Deputy Government Spokesperson Sebastian Hille confirmed to journalists that Merz had watched the game live, adding that the Chancellor was just as disappointed as every other fan in Germany. Merz subsequently issued a follow-up post, stating, “We celebrate successes together. And in defeat, we stand together. That is what makes us strong. Anyone who wears the federal eagle on their chest deserves our support, not our ridicule.”
The controversy surfaces while the government’s popularity is at a historic low. A representative ARD-Deutschlandtrend survey conducted in early June by “infratest-dimap” revealed that 87% of respondents were dissatisfied with the government’s performance. With the economy struggling and concerns mounting over infrastructure and pension reforms, the national team’s poor showing has become a mirror for broader national frustrations. This follows a previous incident before the tournament, where a video call from Merz to the team in the US was widely perceived as awkward and stilted, further highlighting his perceived lack of genuine connection to the country’s most popular sport.
