The national and international press are, for once, in agreement: The German national team's 2-1 defeat in the final World Cup group stage match against Ecuador was thoroughly deserved - and raises some puzzles ahead of the upcoming round of sixteen against an opponent yet to be determined. Puzzles that national team coach Julian Nagelsmann (38) and company urgently need to solve before the next match this coming Monday if they want to go far in the tournament.
More viewers than during the triumph over Ivory Coast
What is already providing clear answers, however, are the viewing figures. The support from the audience here in Germany remains unbroken despite the late kickoff times, as the official numbers, compiled by AGF Videoforschung, show. Around 18.5 million people tuned in to ARD from 10:00 PM to follow the match against Ecuador. This corresponds to a market share of nearly 72 percent.
In the target demographic of 14- to 49-year-olds, there were also strong numbers with 6.25 million viewers, corresponding to a market share of around 77 percent. For comparison: The victorious match against Ivory Coast on June 20, which also kicked off at 10:00 PM, was watched by slightly fewer people on average - 18.3 million in the total audience and around six million in the target demographic. For the opening match against Curaçao, an incredible 23.4 million people had tuned in. That match, which Germany won 7-1, had kicked off at 7:00 PM German time, however.
What happens now?
The next opponent for coach Nagelsmann's team will only be determined shortly before the match this coming Monday. First, it must be determined which eight third-place teams will make the jump to the next round. What is certain is only that the opponent for the round of sixteen will come from Group A, B, C, D, or F.
