South Korea sprung a shock victory against Germany to dump the holders unceremoniously out of the first round of the World Cup.
It was a toothless Germany display that saw the Koreans score twice in stoppage time in the second half.
The Germans needed to win by two clear goals in their final group F match at Kazan stadium to advance to the last 16.
But Joachim Loew's men wasted a series of chances in a tense match that saw a pale version of the world champions become the fourth holders of the title this century to be sent packing at the first hurdle.
Germany's team of superstars could only look on in shock in the final minutes of the match as US referee Mark Geiger called for the video assistant referee to intervene after the unmarked Kim Young-gwon had bundled his shot past Germany 'keeper Manuel Neuer from a corner early in stoppage time.
The goal was awarded because Toni Kroos' touch had played him onside, and minutes later Germany were 2-0 down after Neuer ran up the pitch in a desperate attempt to get a goal.
A long punt upfield saw Tottenham forward Son Heung-minchase a clearance to fire into an empty net.
It means Germany, the four-time champions who had competed in the past 16 editions of the World Cup, fail to make it past the first hurdle of the tournament for the first time since 1938.
Germany coach Joachim Loew caused a surprise by leaving midfield attacking stalwart Thomas Mueller on the bench for the first time since 2012 after his underwhelming displays against Mexico and Sweden.
But by the end of a frustrating opening half, Loew was left desperately studying his options.
Loew said he needs time to decide his future after Wednesday’s defeat.
After 12 years in charge, he will be under intense pressure to resign in the coming days, despite having only signed a contract extension until 2022 last month.
"It's too soon for me to answer, it will take a few hours to see things clearly, the disappointment is very deep in me," 58-year Loew when asked if he will resign.
"We will have to have discussions tomorrow, we'll see how it goes."
"It is a really, really bitter evening for us," admitted defender Mats Hummels, who squandered a late chance when he headed over.
"The situation is very difficult to put into words," he told ZDF.
"We did not put the ball in the net, even though we had plenty of opportunities, including myself in the 86th minute -- I have to score from chances like that.
"It is a very bitter evening for us and for all German football fans. We believed in it until the very end, we tried to shoot, but we just couldn't get the ball in.
"We had plenty of opportunities, we broke our necks trying out there today."
Germany qualified for Russia with a perfect record of ten wins, but Hummels said the last time the team played well was when they wrapped up qualification late last year.
"We put ourselves in this situation after the Mexican game," he admitted after the Germans lost their opener 1-0 to Mexico.
"The last game we delivered a good performance was in the autumn of 2017."
