Pascal Groß: From World Cup Disappointment to Premier League Success
Pascal Groß watched the decisive moments from the sidelines.
Julian Nagelsmann never called his name. Germany’s head coach kept the Brighton midfielder back as the DFB team crashed out on penalties, the shoot-out coming after 120 tense minutes had finished 1-1.
On the pitch, chaos. TV cameras caught Joshua Kimmich desperately searching for volunteers once it became clear the original list of five takers per side would not be enough. The pressure grew. So did the silence.
Leon Goretzka declined. That pushed Jonathan Tah into the spotlight as Germany’s sixth taker. He stepped up and hammered the ball over – the first missed penalty of his professional career.
Groß, a renowned dead-ball specialist in the Premier League, had been ready for that exact moment.
"I was prepared for this scenario, but I don't want to rake it over now," he told kicker when asked about his potential role in the shoot-out.
The subject, he said, never resurfaced with Nagelsmann.
"No, there was no conversation. It hurt him enormously too, of course, everyone was devastated," Groß added.
World Cup disappointment and quiet goodbye
The Euros pain came on the back of a subdued World Cup in North America. Groß’s tournament was reduced to a cameo: just 17 minutes off the bench in the group match against Ecuador.
After that, his Germany career effectively ended with a whisper.
When Jürgen Klopp took over as national team coach, the 35-year-old was left out of the new squad. Given his age, the omission raised few eyebrows, even though he had not yet formally announced his international retirement.
"After the World Cup, with a bit of distance, I had already decided that the matter was over for me," he admitted. "I did not have a conversation with the head coach. For me, not being nominated is not a problem."
No drama, no public farewell tour. Just a quiet closing of a chapter.
Form that refuses to fade
On club duty, though, Groß looks anything but finished.
He has 19 caps and one goal for Germany, a modest return on paper. For Brighton, the numbers tell a very different story. The new Premier League season has started with him at full throttle.
The Seagulls head into the international break sitting third in the table. Groß has driven that surge with three goals and four assists in just five league matches, an outstanding haul for a midfielder.
Germany may have turned the page. Groß, clearly, has not stopped writing.
