John Mullane Makes Curious Comparison Between Cork GAA And German World Cup Exit

John Mullane has made a curious comparison between Germany's World Cup catastrophe and the pressure hanging over Cork ahead of this weekend's All-Ireland hurling semi-final.

Cork face Galway in this weekend's semi-final, hoping to give themselves a third straight shot at ending their lengthy wait for Liam MacCarthy.

The 2024 final was a true epic, with Cork and Clare battling it out until only a score separated them by the end of extra time.

Last year's decider, on the other hand, was a true embarrassment for the Rebels. Six points up at half-time, Cork would ultimately lose by an astonishing 15 to Tipperary, after one of the most infamous second-half collapses in GAA history.

The inquest into last year's catastrophic defeat lasted all the way to the beginning of this season's championship and, in truth, continues to this day.

There is, therefore, plenty of pressure hanging over Ben O'Connor's team coming into this weekend's semi-final, their first trip to Croke Park since the debacle of July 2025.

Despite the pressure hanging over them all season, Cork somewhat strolled through the Munster championship - even if they failed in their mission to make it back-to-back provincial titles with defeat to Limerick in the final.

All of these factors combined led Waterford great John Mullane to compare the Cork hurlers to the Germany team who so disastrously exited the World Cup on Monday evening.

Speaking on the Independent's GAA podcast, John Mullane said:

You mentioned one word there, 'Pressure.'

Look at the Munster round-robin, what game did Cork nearly celebrate the most this year? It was the first game against Tipperary.

Why? Because they were under immense pressure to win that match.

I said [Cork wouldn't get out of Munster] off the back of thinking that there was probably going to be...they mightn't push on after Pat Ryan leaving, and it might be next year.

They got over the line that day, and the players celebrated...there was a bit of relief. But in knowing that,'We're up and running now, one more win and we're back in the All-Ireland series.' They were never going to be under pressure under Offaly. They were always going to win that match.

They were never going to be under pressure in the Munster final, playing Limerick, knowing if they came up short against Limerick, they'd still be in the All-Ireland series, and the likelihood is they're still going to be in an All-Ireland semi-final.

Now, lads, the pressure ramps up a small bit. The safety net is gone.

It's an intriguing point, though few would agree that there was "never going to be pressure" for a game as big as a home Munster final against Limerick.

Nonetheless, it led to an even more intriguing comparison between the Cork hurlers' journey to the All-Ireland semi-final and the route Germany took to the World Cup last 32 before being dumped out on penalties against Paraguay on Monday.

You even look at the World Cup now, you see teams in group games, you lose the group game, the likelihood is you're still going to be in the knockout phase. Now, look at the Germans last night, the Dutch beaten last night, Brazil pushed to the pin of their collar against Japan.

Now, all of a sudden, Cork go back to Croke Park, the venue where there's a bit of scar tissue from the previous two years of losing All-Ireland finals and the manner in which they lost last year's...they were always going to be judged this year on what they do in Croke Park...that brings pressure.

We're sure that Ben O'Connor, of all people, will make sure Cork are fully alive and kicking when they take to the Croke Park turf once more on Saturday afternoon.

Throw-in at GAA HQ for the All-Ireland semi-final between Cork and Galway is 3:30pm on Saturday, with the game live on RTÉ 2.