The dream is over but Germany’s biggest test is now: Can it play host as well as it has even though it’s out of the party? It’s early days but the answer is a qualified yes.

The 2-0 defeat by Italy on Tuesday night has not led to national outcry, anger, embarrassment of even tears (though there were plenty of those on the field at Dortmund); instead, there is great pride at what Klinsi’s boys have done and a realisation that the future looks very good.

And yet it looked so hopeful for such a long time yesterday. The Germans had been outplayed but had taken the Italians to the brink of a penalty shootout, which Germany have never lost. Then, in the space of two minutes, the stiletto was plunged deep, and then twisted. The wall of sound that is the Dortmund arena fell into silence; this was the first time Germany had lost here.

Then, as the final whistle blew, and it became official that Germany would not, as the chants said, march to Berlin, the singing began again, perhaps even louder. “Deutschland, Deutschland”.

As the PA system blared out the universal football anthem You’ll Never Walk Alone, the players a tearful lap of honour. There was Prince Poldi, Lukas Podolski, perhaps the young star of this tournament; there was the speedy David Odonkor; there was Jens Lehmann, who began this tournament an outsider, replacing the great Oliver Kahn, but ending it a national hero. There was Michael Ballack, the strong man unable to control his emotions, aware that for the second tournament running he would bow out in the semi-finals.

... contd.