来源：英文联播
正文共：5558字
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This， then， is how the world ends， not with a bang but with a whimper。 There are certain events so apocalyptic that it feels they cannot just happen。 They should be signalled beneath thunderous skies as owls catch falcons and horses turn and eat themselves.At the very least there should be a sense of fury， of thwarted effort， of energies exhausted。
好吧，世界就是这样终结的，没有石破天惊，唯有唏嘘不已。的确，有些事会是一场灾难，你以为压根也不会发生，简直是天雷滚滚，猫头鹰拿下了猎鹰，马匹竟同类相食。说轻点也让人感到愤怒，抱负未展，精疲力竭。
And yetGermany went out of the World Cupin the first round for the first time in 80 years on a pleasantly sunny afternoon with barely a flicker of resistance。 There was no Sturm。 There was no Drang。
在一个阳光明媚的下午，德国八十年来首次在小组赛被踢出世界杯，毫无还手之力。既不狂飙，也不突进。
译者注：Sturm and Drang是18世纪被称为“狂飙突进运动”的德国浪漫主义思潮。
Germany had come to this World Cup not merely as defending champions but also as winners of the last summer’s Confederations Cup – with what was in effect a second string。 The overhaul of their academy system was the envy of the world， talent production on an industrial scale。
本届世界杯，德国不仅要卫冕冠军，还在去年夏天赢下联合会杯，它的板凳深度充足，培养体系改革令世界称羡，生产了大批人才。
And yet， called upon to score a goal against a disappointingSouth Koreaside who had already lost to Sweden and Mexico， that had lost in qualifying to Qatar and China， they struggled to create a chance。
然而，不过区区要进韩国一个球——韩国人已经令人失望地输给了瑞典和墨西哥，小组赛中还输了卡塔尔和中国——德国人还是没能找到机会。
In the end it was VAR that undid them， Kim Young-gwon’s shot that had initially been ruled out for offside given as a goal when it was realised the ball had been played to him by Toni Kroos。
到头来，视频助理裁判解决了他们，金英權一开始被判越位的进球被认定有效，视频显示是托尼·克罗斯传的球。
And then， even after that， there was a beautiful farce of a goal， Manuel Neuer caught in possession miles upfield as Son Heung-min chased on to Ju Se-jong’s long ball and rolled the ball into an empty net。 It was as though football itself was having its joke， the sweeper-keeper who had been such an asset four years ago turned into a liability。
这还没结束，最后还有一场漂亮的进球喜剧——德国守门员曼努埃尔·诺伊尔在距离自家球门老远老远的前场被断球，朱世钟大脚长传，孙兴慜长途奔袭，让球滚进了空门。好像足球自己在开玩笑，四年前被吹上了天的“门将+后卫”，如今倒成了累赘。
Germany are the fourth of the last five world champions to go out in the group phase but this was as limp a defence as any side had managed。 There was no defining defeat， as Spain had suffered to the Netherlands， just a whole load of baffling mundanity。
过去五届世界杯，德国是第四个小组赛即被淘汰的世界冠军，可如此无能的卫冕方式，其他队伍可干不出来。谈不上决定性的失败，毕竟西班牙败给了荷兰，德国只有彻头彻尾、令人费解的庸碌。
There was a chance， three minutes from time， to steal a goal as they had stolen alate winner against Swedenin the second game but， presented with a free header eight yards out， Mats Hummels somehow misjudged his effort to the extent that the ball looped wide off his shoulder。
比赛结束前三分钟，本来还有那么一次机会，正如他们第二场比赛绝杀瑞典时那样，本可在8码外顶个头球，可不知怎么回事，马茨·胡梅尔斯没理解意图，皮球从他肩膀旁滚开了。
Jogi Löw， theGermanycoach， had acknowledged that while the Sweden game was an improvement， his side had still had problems in defensive transition， too often leaving the two central defenders exposed。 His solution was to bring Leon Goretzka on to the right of the 4-2-3-1， while restoring Mesut Özil and Sami Khedira， who had both been left out of the win over the Swedes.It gives some indication of the difficulties Germany have had that only three outfielders started all three games。
德国教练约阿希姆·勒夫承认，尽管同瑞典的比赛有所进步，但德国队防守转换仍存在问题，总是让两个中后卫承压。他的解决办法是将里昂·格雷茨卡推到4231阵型的右侧，重新使用梅苏特·厄齐尔和萨米·赫迪拉，对瑞典取胜的比赛，两人没有上场。这体现了德国队的难处，三场比赛中，只有三名后卫首发出场。
Thomas Müller， who has been struggling for form for a couple of years， was one of the latest sacrifices， the first time he had been left out of a tournament game by Germany since the semi-final of Euro 2012。
托马斯·穆勒这几年来状态不佳，他是最新的牺牲者之一，自2012年欧洲杯半决赛以来，他首次没在德国国家队参加的杯赛上首发。
Neuer has also started all three games despite not having played for Bayern since September， when he fractured a bone in a foot。 He has not been his usual assured self either and 19 minutes in， he fumbled a free-kick from Jung Woo-Young before recovering to fist the ball away as Son closed in。 To blame him would be absurd， but equally he is clearly far from his best， and in retrospect forcing him back ahead of Marc-André ter-Stegen was perhaps an error。
诺伊尔也在三场小组赛中首发出场，尽管去年9月以来他就因脚部骨折，没在拜仁慕尼黑出场。他已不再意气风发，19分钟时，張祐榮的任意球他没接好，在孙兴慜拍马赶到前才抱住了皮球。责怪他是荒谬的，可他显然也并非处于最佳状态，回想起来，让他顶替马克-安德烈·特尔施特根可能是个错误。
But he was not the only one。 Neuer’s uncertainty is part of a far greater whole。 The German machine was gummed up here； there was no fluency and little cohesion going forward。 Perhaps the aim was simply to deny South Korea the counterattacking chances granted to Mexico and Sweden and in that at least， the gameplan was a success.Thegegenpressingwas more efficient， but there was significant cost in terms of attacking threat。
可他并非唯一表现不佳的球员。诺伊尔状态不佳，这体现出全德国队的问题。德国机器卡壳了，球踢得不好，进攻不流畅。兴许他们的目标不过是不让韩国队有墨西哥和瑞典那样的反击机会，至少比赛设想是成功的。凶狠反抢更加有效，可就构成进攻威胁而言，这带来很大代价。
Not until Goretzka met a Joshua Kimmich cross with a flicked header three minutes into the second half was there a real sense of German threat。 Cho Hyun-woo， though， leapt to his right to claw the ball away。 The Daegu FC keeper came into the tournament as third choice before being surprisingly selected for the opening game because he is the tallest of the three keepers and the coach， Shin Tae-yong， was obsessed by Sweden’s height。 Cho then gained a cult status in South Korea， where his extravagant ginger bouffant has earned him the nickname “Dae-hair”， taking the Korean word for “great” to create a pun on De Gea。
下半场结束三分钟前，接约书亚·基米希越顶球，格雷茨卡跃起头球，这才算得上一次真正意义上的德国威胁，可赵贤祐扑向右侧将球打出。这名大邱足球俱乐部的守门员是参加世界杯的第三人选，但出人意料地被派在第一场比赛中上场，原因是他是三个守门员中个头最高的，韩国主教练申台龙被瑞典人的身高吓住了。后来，赵贤祐在韩国火了，姜黄色的蓬蓬头让他得了个“Dae-hair”的雅号，“Dae”是韩语中的“伟大”，听起来像西班牙队门将德赫亚。
Timo Werner volleyed wide soon after but that was a rare spasm of pressure。 With news coming through that Sweden had scored and that Germany therefore needed to score， Löw threw on Mario Gomez and then Müller。
蒂莫·维尔纳很快开始大脚长传，德国队压力更大。瑞典进球的消息传来，德国队必须进球才能出线，于是勒夫派上了马里奥·戈麦斯，然后又派上了穆勒。
Immediately those issues in defending against the counter returned and a more incisive side than South Korea would have taken advantage。 It could， in truth， have been much worse， and over much sooner。
难以阻截对方反击的问题立刻又回来了，比韩国队进攻性更强的队伍本可大加利用，说实话，结果本该更糟糕，进球也应该来得更快。
In Brazil four years ago Germany struggled to get the balance right between attack and defence until the quarter-final。 This time they never quite did and so， inevitably， unresisted， twilight fell upon the gods。
四年前在巴西世界杯上，德国直到四分之一决赛才在进攻和防守之间找到平衡。这一次，他们压根没找到。于是，不可避免地、难以抗拒地，黄昏笼罩了众神。
本文作者系新浪国际旗下“地球日报”自媒体联盟成员，授权稿件，转载需获原作者许可。文章言论不代表新浪观点。
