Germany crash out of FIFA Women's World Cup, Morocco beats Colombia to seal spot in last 16

South Korea upset two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champions Germany, knocking them out of the competition at the group stage for the first time in their history with a 1-1 draw in Brisbane/Meaanjin.

Following a shock defeat to Colombia in their last match, Germany simply needed to better Morocco's result against the South Americans in Perth/Boorloo to advance.

While Germany struggled against an aggressive and tenacious Korean side in Brisbane, Morocco sealed qualification to the last 16 in their first Women's World Cup campaign with a 1-0 victory over Colombia.

At full time, Germany's players were bewildered, with some standing alone and others in floods of grief as the reality of their situation dawned on them.

"We need time to process," Germany's Alexandra Popp said after the game.

"At this point, we know our squad is good, but we haven't been good enough in the last two games."

That much was obvious, however it was not due to Germany's lack of effort.

Cho So-Hyun's first-half opener stunned the world's second-ranked team, who regrouped just in time to see Popp equalise just before halftime but were unable to produce enough clear-cut chances to earn the win that would have secured a ninth-straight berth in the knockout phase.

Germany captain Popp had three fantastic chances on goal, one of which cannoned into the crossbar, and one header correctly called out in the second half when Lea Schüller was offside in the buildup.

But the back-to-back champions from 2003 and 2007 simply couldn't make any of them matter against a Korean team playing for dignity after two consecutive defeats.

The Koreans could have opened the scoring with their first venture forward, when Casey Phair, 16, hit the post in the fourth minute.

Germany ignored the warning when Cho was passed in on goal just five minutes later, left alone in the box due to some shoddy defending.

Germany launched a frantic attack on the Korean goal in the 16 minutes of stoppage time, but were unable to beat keeper Kim Jung-mi.

Their draw, combined with Morocco's historic victory in Perth, was enough to send the Germans packing.

The German players' anguish in Brisbane was the polar opposite of the jubilation seen in Perth as Morocco and Colombia both advanced to the final 16.

Morocco's game-winning goal came on the stroke of halftime, when Anissa Lahmari bundled home after Ghizlane Chebbak's penalty was saved.

Morocco will face France as their reward, while Colombia will face Jamaica, who surprised Brazil on Wednesday in yet another World Cup shock.