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BERLIN. — Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman shared the shock of a nation over Germany’s stunning World Cup exit yesterday, tweeting “How sad!” after the defending champions’ 2-0 defeat against South Korea.

“Not our World Cup — How sad! There will be other tournaments where we can cheer again,” Steffen Seibert wrote.

Football-mad Germany was plunged into mourning after the title holders were knocked out of the group stages for the first time since 1938.

“A historic disgrace,” Der Spiegel news weekly called it.

“Speechless,” read a tweet on the German team’s official Twitter account.

At Berlin’s fan mile, supporters had begun leaving even before the final whistle blew.

“These aren’t world champions, they didn’t fight at all,” fumed 27-year-old Oliver Fischer, wearing a Germany jersey.

“We absolutely deserved to be out. We had no fight, no courage, no ideas!”

Former England captain Gary Lineker also mocked the Germans on Twitter.

Lineker, whose side lost to Germany in the 1990 World Cup semi-final on penalties, has a famous quote about the Germans, which reads: “Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win.”

But after the Germans exit from the competition yesterday, he adapted that quote in brilliant fashion.

“Football is a simple game,” he wrote. “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.” — Agencies