Jurgen Klopp makes Arsenal Premier League title claim after 'brutal' VAR decision contributes to Germany exit from World Cup after loss to Paraguay

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Germany were dumped out of the World Cup following a penalty shoot-out defeat to Paraguay in the Round of 32, but plenty of talk in the aftermath centred on the controversial decision to rule out a goal from Jonathan Tah.

Jonathan Tah reacts after missing the team's sixth penalty during the penalty shoot-out during the World Cup match between Germany and Paraguay at Boston Stadium on June 29, 2026

Image credit: Getty Images

Tah rose high to meet a Nathaniel Brown corner to net what he thought was the winning goal in extra time, but referee Jalal Jayed was summoned to the screen by Video Assistant Referee Tatiana Guzman, and he elected to rule out the effort for a foul by Waldemar Anton on goalkeeper Orlando Gill.

Alan Shearer, on commentary for BBC Sport, called it a "terrible decision" and added that Gill had "conned the referee".

Those words mattered little as Paraguay went on to win the contest on penalties to book a meeting with France or Sweden in the last 16.

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Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann was booked for his reaction to the goal being disallowed, and his position at the helm could come under scrutiny following the early exit.

Jurgen Klopp is likely to be linked with the Germany job, and he had his say on the goal - suggesting Premier League champions Arsenal got away with worse on their run to ending their title drought.

"If the goal is illegal, then Arsenal won't be English champions," Klopp told MagentaTV. "They've scored 60% of their goals that way.

”We win the game when the ball goes in. So, of course, this is brutal."

Klopp was asked about the possibility of succeeding Nagelsmann as coach of Die Mannschaft, but gave little away.

"I haven't thought about that yet," Klopp said. "I understand that when the national position is discussed, my name is mentioned in some form.

”But it's not the moment to really talk about it. There's nothing to say about it.

"I have a job that I enjoy very much. As far as I know, it's not a part-time job," Klopp, who is the head of global football at Red Bull, added.

;I'm not someone who runs away' - Nagelsmann

It would appear Nagelsmann has no plans to turn his back on the job.

Asked about his future in a press conference, Nagelsmann said: "I'm not someone who runs away.

"This is not the first time, unfortunately. This has been happening again and again. And there are some things that I'm not going to go into details [about] today. There are some things that need to be changed, but I'm not going to step back just because we are eliminated.

"If the DFB wants me to continue, I am going to continue. I know how the industry works in football and I also know that a lot of people, now, may want me to leave, but I would still love to continue if the German FA wants me to."

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