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FootballRafael Van Der Vaart Mocks Harry Maguire While Criticising German Football Team
- Harry Maguire's performances for Manchester United this season have been widely criticised
- Germany were eliminated from the World Cup in the group stages despite beating Costa Rica
- Rafael van der Vaart rated Niklas Sule's defence so low that he used Maguire as an example
Rafael van der Vaart is unhappy with Germany's World Cup performance.
The former Netherlands midfielder criticised the team's defending, hilariously comparing it to that of England defender Harry Maguire.
Football 365 noted that Van der Vaart was providing commentary on Dutch television when he took a shot at both Niklas Sule and Maguire.
“Germany have a problem in defence. Niklas Sule is not world-class. He is the German Harry Maguire,” the former Dutch star said.
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Ironically, Maguire has been impressive for England during the tournament. The Manchester United defender has been criticised for his performances for his club, but is a different player with the Three Lions shirt on.
Van der Vaart wasn't the only person critical of Germany's showing at the tournament.
Former players and the media lambasted the team, and even coach Hansi Flick admitted that it was their own fault they were eliminated in the group stages, Daily Mail reported.
However, Flick said despite the many reasons for Germany's early elimination from the Mundial, he would not seek excuses.
"We did not have much time to train, but it is not down to that. We fulfilled our last duty and went off the pitch with a victory, but the result could have been better,” he said after the game against Costa Rica.
Die Mannschaft beat Costa Rica 4-2, but were still dumped out of the tournament after Japan beat Spain 2-1.
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FootballVAR decision kicked Germany out
The football world is still in shock, after Germany exited the World Cup in the group stage for the second consecutive tournament.
After a sluggish start to the campaign, Die Mannschaft finally found their scoring boots against Costa Rica, Sports Brief earlier reported.
They still needed Spain to do them a favour by beating or holding Japan to draw, a result that was hard to come by due to a controversial Video Assistant Referee review.