Former Germany midfielder Didi Hamann has called compatriot Antonio Rudiger "out of order" for his attitude towards Japan match-winner Takuma Asano.
Ex-Arsenal forward Asano, who plays his club football in the Bundesliga with Bochum, came off the bench to score a devastating winner against the 2014 World Champions at the Khalifa International Stadium. Ilkay Gundogan had given Germany a lead from the penalty spot, with Hansi Flick's side missing chances to extend their lead, but fellow sub Ritsu Doan equalised before Asano gave Japan victory.
Earlier in the game, Rudiger had performed an eccentric piece of defending to shepherd the ball out of play with Asano closing. While the Real Madrid star got the job done on that occasion, he attracted plenty of criticism from his compatriot.
"You don’t belittle the opposition because it always comes back at some stage," Hamann told RTE. "I think it was very unprofessional.
"I think it was out of order. Arrogant. There’s no defence for it whatsoever. He was having a laugh, there’s only one team having a laugh now."
Hamann later doubled down on Twitter, calling the behaviour "unprofessional and arrogant" and saying "Belittling the opposition has never been in the spirit of the game." Fellow pundit Tony Cascarino, meanwhile, told talkSPORT he felt Rudiger was "mocking" Asano, saying "he was laughing as he was running."
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The result leaves Germany playing catch-up in their group, with their next game coming against a Spain side who demolished Costa Rica 7-0 in their own opener. By the time they face the Central American side in their final group game, Flick's men could already be out.
Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer said after the game the he felt the defeat was "more than unnecessary". Kai Havertz had a goal ruled out for offside and Japan stopper Shuichi Gonda was called into action on multiple occasions, but Flick's team were unable to score the killer second goal.
"We created a lot of chances to score, so luck and bad luck go hand in hand," Neuer said. "The imperative that we wanted to score the second goal was perhaps missing and we brought Japan back into the game.
"After the break, we didn't have that flow of play anymore, didn't play with the self-confidence we had in the first half. It was a bit more difficult because they started higher, but we still have to play well.”
Not everyone was surprised, though. Brighton and Japan star Kaoru Mitoma was one of the substitutes who helped Hajima Moriyasu's team complete the turnaround, and he pointed to their opponents' weak points before the game.
"Germany is the best team in the world but they have a weakness," the winger said. "They put many players in the attacking space, they have a weakness against the counter attack, so yeah, we are preparing for this."
