Photo Gallery A Dejected Mannschaft
Disappointment abounds: After rolling through England (4:1) and Argentina (4:0), Germany lost to Spain 0:1 in the World Cup semifinal match on Wednesday in Durban, South Africa. Here, the scorer of Spain's lone goal, Carles Puyol (left) shakes hands with German striker Miroslav Klose (center) after the final whistle. German midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger (right) shows his dejection.
Bastian Schweinsteiger was the anchor of the German midfield after moving from the wing to the center before the tournament. "I don't want to go back there with nothing to show -- I've done that twice already," Schweinsteiger said on Monday, referring to Germany's third-place finish in the 2006 World Cup and losing to Spain in the final of the 2008 European Championship.
Germany will face Uruguay in the third-place match on Saturday in Port Elizabeth. Spain and the Netherlands will play in the final in Johannesburg on Sunday. Neither of the finalists have ever won the cup, and it will be the first time a European team will win the tournament outside of the home continent.
Arne Friedrich (left), Mario Gomez (center) and Per Mertesacker (right) react after the match.
Carles Puyol (ground) scored the winner for Spain in the 73rd minute. Puyol rose and headed a corner kick behind German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer (left).
German captain Philipp Lahm (facing) is comforted by defender Jerome Boateng after the game.
Germany trainer Joachim Löw (right) shakes hands with Spain's coach Vicente Del Bosque after the match. Said Löw: "I believe they'll (Spain) win this tournament. ... We played a great tournament but weren't as sharp tonight as we have been. It's unfortunate."
Striker Mario Gomez (left), and defenders Per Mertesacker (center) and Marcell Jansen (right) after the game.
From left: Per Mertesacker, a team staff member, Arne Friedrich, Mesut Özil, Toni Kroos and Mario Gomez sit on the Germany bench after the final whistle.
Piotr Trochowski (left), Stefan Kiessling (center) and Tim Wiese (right) sit dejected after the loss.
Midfielder Sami Khedira after the game. Khedira is one of 11 players on the national team of non-German background, highlighting Germany's multi-ethnic team. His play, along with fellow midfielder Mesut Özil, sparked what some call a new youthful and creative era in German football.
Bastian Schweinsteiger (left) and Philipp Lahm following the final whistle.
"They deserved to win and we must now wish them all the best for the final," German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer (pictured) said after the match.
Spain's Sergio Busquets (left) shakes hands with Philipp Lahm after the match (right).
Germany striker Miroslav Klose hangs his head after the loss. Klose, in probably his final World Cup, is one goal short of tying Brazil's Ronaldo for the most all-time goals by an individual in the tournament. Klose will have the chance to net his record-tying 15th World Cup goal against Uruguay in the third-place match on Saturday.
