Rafael van der Vaart bizarrely took aim at Manchester United and England central defender Harry Maguire after Germany were knocked out of the World Cup.
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Hansi Flick’s side beat Costa Rica 4-2 in their last group match but still finished third in Group E after Japan shocked Spain.
Germany have won four World Cups but now face a huge rebuild after a second consecutive group-stage exit.
Former Netherlands star Van der Vaart was covering Germany’s game with Costa Rice on Dutch TV and decided to take a bizarre dig at Maguire after the World Cup exit.
Van der Vaart has been one of Maguire’s biggest critics since his £80m move to United from Leicester City, but while the 29-year-old was dropped by Erik ten Hag earlier in the campaign, he has impressed for England in Qatar.
‘Germany have a problem in defence,’ Van der Vaart said on NOS Journaal last night. ‘[Borussia Dortmund’s] Niklas Sule is not world-class. He is the German Harry Maguire.’
Maguire started all three of England’s Group B games in Qatar as Gareth Southgate’s side took seven points to set up a last-16 clash with Senegal.
Germany head coach Flick insisted he had no plans to step down after his team’s premature World Cup exit, telling reporters: ‘From my side, there is no reason not to continue.
‘I enjoy it, we have good players coming through. We have players who play with top clubs and we do have the quality but I believe that for the future of German football, we need to do things differently in training.
‘It will be very important to focus on the new generation of footballers. There are good players for the future, but for the next ten years, it is very important that we make the right steps now.’
Chelsea’s Kai Havertz added: ‘When you go out twice in the first round and once in the round of 16, it’s extremely bitter.
‘We have to be honest and say that for four years, everything hasn’t been going well. Now we’ve been knocked out twice in the group stage. I don’t think we’re a tournament team anymore.’
Surprising Group E winners Japan will face 2018 runners-up Croatia in the next round of the World Cup, while Spain meet Morocco for a place in the quarter-finals in Qatar.
