Germany's Alexandra Popp opens up on international future after shock World Cup exit vs South Korea

Two time Women's World Cup champions Germany have crashed out of the FIFA Women's World Cup at the group stage after failing to beat South Korea in their final group game.

Despite levelling the scores just before the half time whistle through Alexandra Popp, they were unable to find the required second goal to send them to the last 16 of the tournament ahead of Morocco, who beat Colombia 1-0 to set up a tie with France on Tuesday.

And Germans fans could be set for more heartbreak with iconic striker Popp refusing to rule out her international retirement, saying: "To be honest, it is extremely difficult to me to give analysis off the cuff. This was not ideal. I think we are all aware of it.

"During the second half we were informed that we need urgently to score and after that I think we showed strong desire and grit to go for a goal but somehow it just didn't want to go in.

"We do need a little bit of time now to process what has happened and to be able to find some confidence again. At this stage, we know that our squad is good but during those two games, we were not optimal. We have to say that.

"I don't think I can really say anything on that topic (her international future). As far as I am concerned, no answer at this stage."

Popp, who is her country's third highest goalscorer of all time, was vital in her team's run to last year European Championship final and many cited her as someone who could take them all the way at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

German head coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg echoed Popp's disappointment, saying: “When you’re so static against such a defensive minded team sitting deep, it’s difficult to carve out clear scoring chances and yes we had chances. But to win the game we needed to be significantly clearer and needed more attacking moments.

"Twice we achieved a result that was not good enough. We have to face it now" she added.