British media rejoice in German WC despair

LONDON: British newspapers revelled in Germany’s World Cup despair on Thursday as Italy’s Corriere della Sera commiserated with their plight — mindful of the fact the Italians did not even make it to Russia.

Germany, four-time world champions, are England’s historic nemesis after inflicting some painful defeats over the course of more than half a century. And the press made the most of the demise of Joachim Loew’s side, eliminated from the World Cup at the first-round stage for the first time since 1938. “Schadenfreude, noun (from the German): Pleasure derived from another person’s misfortune,” said the Sun’s front page.

The paper — never slow to put on a brash show of jingoism — printed a cut-out-and-keep table showing Germany rooted to the bottom, also listing several English footballing names who suffered at the hands of the Germans. “Sir Bobby (Robson), Psycho (Stuart Pearce), Chrissy Waddle, El Tel (Venables), Gareth (Southgate), Lamps (Frank Lampard) and every England fan... This is for you.