从方框里选择合适的词语的适当形式填空。
| A.qualifying B.difficult C.distant D.disappointment E.crash AB. undeniable AC.memory AD.scoring AE.sour BC.make BD.work |
Germany Crashes Out of World Cup
Germany became the latest defending champion to crash out of the World Cup at the first hurdle, part of a trend but definitely not part of the plan when Germany arrived here.
A smooth-running【小题1】machine when it won the Cup in 2014, Germany now appears in need of a reform after losing,2-0,to South Korea here on Wednesday and saying goodbye to Russia about three weeks earlier than many expected.
It has been the earliest exit for a German team at the World Cup since 1938,which seems even more 【小题2】when you consider Hitler was then the country's leader and only 15 teams participated.
With stars like Kroos, Mesut Özil and Mats Hummels, Germany won every match in【小题3】for this World Cup, the first German team to do so. But it could not even【小题4】it out of the group phase in Russia.
There seems to be a World Cup curse at【小题5】.Since the 1998 edition, the defending champion has been eliminated in the group phase on four occasions: France in 2002, Italy in 2010, Spain in 2014 and now Germany.
But this team's early exit was still a(n)【小题6】shock, and Joachim Löw, the German coach since 2006, used that same word—"shock," in his own language-to describe the experience on Wednesday.
“The【小题7】of being eliminated is just huge,” said Löw, who added that the team deserved to go out early.
“It turned【小题8】. I must take responsibility for this.”
A four-time World Cup winner, Germany was a finalist in 2002, third in 2006 and 2010 and the champion in 2014 after dealing the host nation of Brazil a 7-1 defeat in the semifinals, the 【小题9】of which still leaves many Brazilians in pain.
The Germans certainly have historical company, however. The list of defending champions to lose very early shows how【小题10】it is to maintain momentum and focus with national teams whose players practice and play together much less frequently than they do with their clubs.
