GERMANY PERSPECTIVE

DW devotes a full article to Italy's elimination — 'Das Triple des Scheiterns ist perfekt' (the failure hat-trick is complete) — with a level of tactical detail that non-sports outlets rarely achieve. Moise Kean opens the scoring at 15 minutes, Bastoni gets a red at 41, Italy barricades, Haris Tabakovic of Mönchengladbach equalizes at 79, and two of Italy's three penalty takers miss.

But it's the Bosnia article that reveals Germany's real angle. DW headlines 'Bosnien-Herzegowina: WM-Ticket mit deutschem Anstrich' — the World Cup ticket with a German touch. Six Bosnian players compete in the Bundesliga (Demirovic at Stuttgart, Tabakovic at Gladbach, Vasilj at St. Pauli, Katic and Dzeko at Schalke, Burnic at Karlsruhe). Coach Sergej Barbarez has lived in Hamburg since 1992, fleeing the Bosnian war. His assistant was born in Hamburg. Germany has appropriated Bosnia's victory as its own achievement — football as migration soft power.

The contrast is striking: Gazzetta dello Sport speaks of 'apocalypse' and Italy's sports minister demands refounding, while DW tells a feel-good integration story. The same event — Bosnia beats Italy — produces two incompatible national narratives: the death of calcio in Italy, the triumph of immigration in Germany.