After 1 minute and 49 seconds, Germany dismantled itself again.

When Sane poked the ball into Ecuador's goal, the clock stopped at 1 minute 49 seconds. It was Germany's second-fastest World Cup goal in history, the previous one dating back to 1934 when Ernst Lehner scored against Austria. The 80,000 fans at MetLife Stadium hadn't even settled into their seats.

Nine minutes later, Angulo took a shot from outside the box. It went in. Ecuador's first goal of this World Cup slammed squarely in the face of Germany's defense.

For the next sixty-plus minutes, the Germans played keep-ball like prayer beads. The edge of the box was filled with useless sideways passes, not a single through ball that could split the defense. In the 77th minute, Plata poked the ball home from a corner scramble. 2-1. Ecuador's President Noboa immediately declared June 26 a national holiday.

Around 60,000 Ecuadorian fans turned the New Jersey stadium into the Quito highlands. That same night, German Sky Sports put Wirtz and Musiala on display for criticism. Bild's headline read "Worrying", while taz slapped four words on its front page: "Extreme Chaos".

The scoreline was just a flesh wound, but ESPN's expected goals (xG) data was the MRI scan: Ecuador 1.51, Germany 0.65. More than double the difference. After taking the lead, the entire team seemed to have their mute button pressed—no intensity in pressing, unable to regain momentum.

Undav admitted into the microphone that Ecuador showed greater desire to win and aggression, "winning more duels and effectively regaining possession." Translated into plain language: They wanted it more than we did.

Nagelsmann heard this and went straight on Magenta TV. "Ecuador had a greater desire to win than us?" He paused. "Das ist Quatsch (That's nonsense)."

The German head coach publicly denied his own striker's statement after a World Cup match. Undav blamed attitude, Nagelsmann blamed tactics. He said the team "made hasty decisions in positioning" and asked players not to obsess over scoring on every attack.

Striker blames attitude, coach blames tactics. After a loss, each giving their own version on TV—this crack in the dressing room is more worrying for the knockout stages than the 1-2 scoreline.

Bastian Schweinsteiger sat in the WELT studio and dropped a string of bloody numbers: "We haven't kept a clean sheet since the 2014 World Cup final." Twelve years, three coaches, conceding in eight consecutive World Cup matches. The entire defense has never been properly built from the ground up.

Schweinsteiger raked up old grievances, while Hummels went straight for the throat. The 2014 champion center-back ranted on Magenta TV: "What worries me is that even in a match that doesn't determine qualification, you can't do the most basic things—stay calm on the ball, make the right decisions." The subtext was clear to everyone: If you play like this with no pressure, what happens in a must-win game?

Neuer was asked by reporters after the match about his feelings on conceding goals. His lips moved, and he only uttered one word: "No!" L'Équipe hit the nail on the head: Neuer's reaction when conceding showed all the signs of his age.

Klopp played peacemaker in the same studio, calling the loss "not ideal but educational," saying if the team learns from it, the next match will be "completely different." Ten days earlier, he had apologized for questioning Nagelsmann's personnel decisions, with Reuters quoting him as saying "I'm an idiot."

Three group stage matches played: 7-1 against Curaçao, 2-1 against Ivory Coast, 1-2 against Ecuador. Top of the group, a decent result on paper. But the first two wins came against Curaçao and Ivory Coast, not tough opponents like Brazil or France. The Round of 32 first sends them to Gillette Stadium in Boston to face Paraguay; get past that, and they likely meet France in the Round of 16.

The shadow of consecutive group-stage exits from the last two World Cups hasn't faded, and the habit of being overturned in the 77th minute has already been packed into the knockout rounds. Nagelsmann might be able to shake off the "lack of desire to win" label on TV, but the 1.51 to 0.65 xG gap can't be shaken off. And a twelve-year clean sheet drought can't be covered up by a group-stage top finish.