The German national team was eliminated early from the 2026 World Cup. Their run ended in a penalty shootout against Paraguay in the round of 32, with Jonathan Tah ultimately becoming the tragic figure.
The Bayern star missed his penalty kick, just as Nick Woltemade and Kai Havertz had done before him. He hadn’t taken a single penalty kick before and was only up so early because other stars didn’t feel ready.
In the aftermath of the match, Tah had to deal with insults and racist attacks on social media. This is, unfortunately, not uncommon and needs to be prosecuted much more rigorously.
Upamecano stands by Tah
Jonathan Tah has now received support from a teammate at FC Bayern, namely Dayot Upamecano. Unlike Tah, Upamecano is still competing in the World Cup, where France defeated Paraguay 1-0 on Saturday night.
Speaking to Sky after the game, Upamecano addressed, among other things, the attacks directed at his teammate.
„Yes, I’ve been in touch with him. I texted him after the game and know that he’s very strong. I’m totally happy to be playing with him—he has a great mentality. He wanted to take that penalty kick and has always had that mentality. He’s very important for Germany and for FC Bayern,” said the Frenchman.
The defender sharply criticized the fans’ reactions. “I don’t understand why people like that exist, and I don’t accept racism. But he shouldn’t let that bother him. He just has to keep going and give it his all,” Upamecano continued.
While Tah has already left for vacation and will be able to start preseason training with FC Bayern earlier than expected, Upamecano and the French national team will now face a challenge in the quarterfinals against Morocco. The title is clearly the French team’s goal, and as things stand, France is among the absolute favorites.