Germany Suffer Earliest Women's World Cup Exit As Morocco Advance

Germany was eliminated from the Women's World Cup group stage on Thursday after a stalemate with South Korea, with debutants Morocco continuing instead.

Germany's 1-1 draw with Korea and Morocco's unexpected 1-0 victory over Colombia resulted in the European team's earliest exit in Women's World Cup history.

The two-time defending champions and one of the pre-tournament favorites join Brazil, Italy, and Olympic champions Canada in exiting the competition in record time.

Despite losing, Colombia finished first in Group H and will face Jamaica in round of 16.

Morocco also advanced to the knockout stages for their World Cup debut, with two wins and a loss, and will face France next. Germany finished third and was forced to return home early.

"To be honest, it's still hard to understand," said German captain Alexandra Popp, who scored the game's only goal and was the team's main danger.

"I'm still trying to figure out what happened here."

There was "a lot of uncertainty today," according to coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg.

"In the end, you have to admit that our performance was insufficient."

Germany entered the game in front of under 39,000 people in Brisbane knowing that a win over South Korea would place them in the last 16.

But they got off to a poor start, surrendering to a smart Cho So-hyun finish after only six minutes and appearing shaky at the back.

South Korea looked nothing like the team that lost 2-0 to Colombia and 1-0 to Morocco under Colin Bell.

Germany equalized soon before halftime with a Popp header, but despite their dominance, last year's European champions failed to score the crucial second goal.

Popp thought she had won it with another tremendous header in the second half, but VAR ruled it out for offside.

Sydney Lohmann's effort flew wide in stoppage time, and Germany needed Colombia's help.

A draw might have sufficed for Germany had Morocco not surprised them in Perth.

Morocco triumphed with Anissa Lahmari's goal in first-half stoppage time, after captain Ghizlane Chebbak's penalty effort was magnificently saved.

The Atlas Lionesses had a tense wait as the Morocco game ended just before events in Brisbane.

The Moroccan players erupted on the field when Germany's destiny was decided.

The Koreans finished last in the group with one point, but they were able to salvage some honor.