FIFA stick the knife into Germany, as Arsene Wenger suggests 'teams who focused on political demonstrations' failed at the World Cup because they weren't 'mentally ready'
- Arsene Wenger claims Germany weren't fully focused due to their protest
- Germany players protested ahead of loss to Japan over the One Love armband
- Hansi Flick's side were unable to progress beyond the group stages
- Click here for the latest World Cup 2022 news, fixtures, live action and results
Arsene Wenger has taken a swipe at those who took a stance on political issues at the World Cup, claiming they underperformed on the pitch.
The former Arsenal manager, who is a FIFA's head of global football development, triggered outrage on social media with an unprompted dig at a press conference following the conclusion of the group stage in Qatar.
Wenger, 73, said: 'You know when you go to a World Cup, you know you can't lose the first game. The teams who have the experience to perform in tournaments like France and England played well in the first game.
![Arsene Wenger has suggested Germany's protest contributed to their shock defeat by Japan](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/12/04/12/65222307-11500333-image-a-15_1670156059740.jpg)
Arsene Wenger has suggested Germany's protest contributed to their shock defeat by Japan
![Wenger stated that teams who didn't focus on political demonstrations fared better in their first game](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/12/04/12/65222327-11500333-image-a-16_1670156066094.jpg)
Wenger stated that teams who didn't focus on political demonstrations fared better in their first game
'The teams who were mentally ready, with a mindset to focus on competition, and not the political demonstrations.'
That was widely interpreted as a shot at Germany, whose players put their hands over their mouths in a symbolic, pre-match gesture after FIFA threatened to sanction those who wore the OneLove rainbow armband which a number the captains of seven countries including England were planning to do.
The four-times champions went on to suffer a shock 2-1 defeat at the hands of Japan and failed to qualify for the knockout stages.
Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar and fans have been prevented entry to matches if they were wearing items featuring rainbows.
![Germany suffered a shock defeat against Japan and ultimately failed to get out of the group](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/12/04/12/65222547-11500333-image-a-17_1670156946094.jpg)
Germany suffered a shock defeat against Japan and ultimately failed to get out of the group
Germany legend Lothar Matthaus suggested that the team's defending was to blame for their elimination.
Matthaus said: 'It was down to the defence, that was too easy for the opponent, against Japan, also against Costa Rica. Don't be surprised if you make mistakes like this.
'It was also due to the conversion of chances, that was bad luck, but also inability. It would have been possible to score a lot more goals.'
England had also been planning to wear the One Love armband. Wenger commented that none of the big countries have been able to show consistency so far.
![It was a hugely disappointing tournament in Qatar for Hansi Flick's Germany team](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/12/04/13/65222971-11500333-image-a-31_1670159241804.jpg)
It was a hugely disappointing tournament in Qatar for Hansi Flick's Germany team
He said: 'For the teams that have not been consistent visually, England is one of them. England was been absolutely outstanding in the first game, they struggled in the second game against the States and then they have back when needed to give a convincing performance against Wales.
'There have been big ups and downs. None of the big countries has been so disappointing.'
Germany took the lead against Japan through a penalty from Ilkay Gundogan, but goals from Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano gave Hajime Moriyasu's team a shock victory.
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