Joshua Kimmich joked he may have to play until the age of 45 to lift an international trophy as he rued Germany s dire showing at the 2022 World Cup.
Having been eliminated in the group stage at Russia 2018 and fallen to England in the last 16 at Euro 2020, Germany arrived in Qatar in the midst of a dismal run of tournament showings.
Hansi Flick s side were left with a familiar sinking feeling as they failed to recover from a shock defeat to Japan in their Group E opener, missing out on a place in the round of 16 despite taking four points from games against Spain and Costa Rica.
Bayern Munich midfielder Kimmich has now been a Germany regular at four major tournaments, and their shortcomings have left him with a bitter taste.
Kimmich is back in Doha for a mid-season training camp with Bayern, and asked in a press conference about Germany s chances of winning a major trophy as they look ahead to hosting Euro 2024, he said: I just have to keep playing until I m 45, then we will, hopefully.
Reflecting on Germany s World Cup exit, the 27-year-old added: We had big objectives and wanted to reach something.
Eventually, we got knocked out early again. After 2018, the Euros and now another tournament like this, it is very bitter.
You don t get that many chances with the national team, so this is not something you can just easily forget and move on from because it is what it is.