'HAHAHA' - schadenfreude sweeps web after German downfall

MOSCOW: The internet turned cruel for Germany fans on Thursday as online mockery swept the globe following the defending champions' shock World Cup elimination.

A stream of memes and jokes flooded social media after a stunning 2-0 defeat to South Korea condemned Die Mannschaft to their earliest exit in 80 years.

"Don't mention the VAR," was a common refrain, while Brazilian media gleefully took their revenge for Brazil's 7-1 humiliation by Germany at the last World Cup in 2014.


"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA..." read a tweet from Fox Sports Brasil that ran to 272 characters.


In dramatic scenes in Kazan, Kim Young-gwon's stoppage-time opener was ruled legitimate after intervention from the Video Assistant Referee, before Son Heung-min added the second goal minutes later.

"Germany's fastest exit from Russia since 1943," posted one user, while another tweeted a picture of Germany towels reserving all the seats on an empty plane.

Mexico fans were particularly delighted after South Korea's last-gasp win allowed them to qualify for the last 16 behind Group F winners Sweden -- while Germany finished rock bottom.

Aeromexico offered a 20 percent discount on flights to South Korea, tweeting an image of a plane with doctored "AeroCorea" livery and the slogan, "We love you Korea!" Ryanair tweeted a picture of an unhappy Germany fan, offering "Loew fares" -- a reference to German coach Joachim Loew.

One joke in German showed a supermarket check-out assistant asking Loew, "Do you collect points?" with the coach answering, "No." Meanwhile, England striker-turned-TV-presenter Gary Lineker revised his famous maxim that "Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win." "Football is a simple game," Lineker tweeted.

"Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans no longer always win. Previous version is confined to history."