Carlos Tevez admits Argentina’s crushing exit from the World Cup was a painful experience.

The Blues’ talismanic striker gave his all during the 4-0 defeat to Germany, but the defensive frailties that had occasionally appeared throughout Argentina’s time in South Africa were cruelly exposed by Joachim Loew’s team.

Tevez did set up a goal that would have made it 1-1 in the first half, but it was correctly ruled out for offside.

"It really hurts,” he said. “We knew it would be a tough game and that they wouldn’t let us attack in the way we normally do and they made it very difficult for us.

Ultimately, we didn’t score and there’s nothing we can say about their victory. It was a bad game and we are going home, but we have no regrets

...Carlos Tevez

The Blues’ new German defender Jerome Boateng had his most impressive game of the tournament during the victory and his country will now face a Holland team minus Nigel de Jong who will be serving a one-match ban in the semi-final.

With David Silva’s Spain facing Uruguay in the other semi, City could well have two players in a World Cup final for the first time.

Meanwhile, Tevez will now take a well-earned break with his family in Argentina before returning to take part in City’s pre-season training. 

Argentina’s failure to progress beyond the quarter-finals means that he could now join the Blues during the latter part of the US tour.