After the World Cup elimination against Paraguay: Is Jürgen Klopp ready as Julian Nagelsmann's successor?

The 38-year-old Nagelsmann, who has a contract running until Euro 2028 and reportedly earns seven million euros per year, returned to Munich after the elimination without making a statement. At the airport, he chose a back exit in the pouring rain, where a dozen journalists but no fans were waiting. His teammates Aleksandar Pavlovic and Jamal Musiala were also on board the flight from Charlotte, while another part of the delegation — including Angelo Stiller, Jamie Leweling and assistant coach Benjamin Hübner — had already landed in Frankfurt am Main early in the morning. Pavlovic used the main exit, Musiala avoided it.

DFB keeping its distance

On the very day after the elimination, there was a brief statement from the association's president that sounded little like unconditional backing: "We cannot and do not want to simply move on with business as usual after such a heavy blow, with a view to the upcoming tasks." Shortly afterwards, the Red Bull chief also criticised publicly: "I missed the urgency and the absolute passion." Nagelsmann himself showed a fighting spirit: "I am ready, if that's what they want. And if they don't want that, they have to say so." The question now is what the DFB wants.

Because unlike after the World Cup disasters of 2018 and 2022, when Joachim Löw and Hansi Flick were able to stay in office despite disappointment because no natural successor was available, this time there is a prominent option: Jürgen Klopp. The 59-year-old, who has been working as Head of Global Soccer at Red Bull since January 2025, is considered by many to be the man who could lead the four-time world champion back to the top. According to media reports, Klopp is open to the job should the DFB approach him. After the German elimination, Klopp had stressed: "Ich habe einen Job und wir haben auch einen Bundestrainer. Aber unabhängig von meiner Person müssen sich ganz viele Dinge ändern. Ab jetzt ist klar: Wir müssen Schritt für Schritt wieder dahinkommen, wo wir waren."

Klopp as an option

The speculation about a possible change has received new fuel from the public pressure. "Sportbild" headlined on Wednesday: "We need Klopp as a mood-turner." And the pressure is likely to increase even further in the coming days. Nagelsmann, for his part, had confidently announced in the run-up to the World Cup: "Now we have to wait two years until we become world champions." That has now turned into the next bitter World Cup fiasco. Public sentiment is increasingly turning against the young coach.

Klopp had referred to the coaching duo in an interview on Magenta TV. He said jokingly to co-expert Thomas Müller: "Ihr seid ja mehr für die Komik zuständig." At the same time, he reined in the growing discussions about his person: "Es gibt dazu nichts zu sagen." Nagelsmann referred to the decision-makers at the association: "Aber das entscheidet der DFB." The 38-year-old had also reaffirmed: "Ich würde Deutschland gerne bis zur EM 2028 begleiten."

Hummels brings Klopp into play

Mats Hummels, who works as an expert at MagentaTV, brought Klopp into the conversation and named him alongside Pep Guardiola as the best coach of the past 17, 18 years worldwide. He would give Klopp, his former coach at Borussia Dortmund, preference. Hummels himself had worked as an expert for ZDF in 2006 and had become the darling of the people when he explained football to the Germans — at that time as Franz Beckenbauer's successor.

The former Bayern player had, in a light-hearted moment, let slip the remark that Julian Nagelsmann was picking the national team, and followed it with a curt "noch" ("yet") — which mainly angered Rudi Völler, the DFB sporting director. There is reason to fear that the personnel policy rifts within the association are deeper than the public has so far perceived.

Völler, 66 years old, is increasingly seen as the face of a conservative ossification of the association. On the question of whether he is still needed in the new constellation, opinions differ. What is certain is that the coming days will be marked by a broadly conducted debate.

Historical comparison with Beckenbauer

A historical comparison is now also being drawn in the German media. Franz Beckenbauer was working as a columnist for the "Bild" newspaper in 1984 before, after the DFB team's group-stage exit, he was hoisted into office by that very newspaper as Jupp Derwall's successor — a similar case of a media-launched change. Beckenbauer, too, had enormous radiance when he took the helm.

But the situation is more complex than a mere coaching change. Philipp Lahm, the captain of the 2014 World Cup team and now 42 years old, called for a fundamental reappraisal in a guest article in "Kicker". He criticised the team's lack of development, the absence of a natural hierarchy, and said: "Joshua Kimmich wurde in der falschen Position als Rechtsverteidiger statt im Mittelfeld eingesetzt." Lahm made clear: "Unter den Top 32 der Welt zu sein, kann nicht unser Anspruch sein. Deshalb muss er in Frage gestellt werden." In an interview with "Die Zeit", Lahm also said that before the discussion about names like Klopp, the DFB had to clarify how German football should play.

Lahm demands fundamental reappraisal

Nagelsmann had originally announced that he was happy to continue and fulfil his contract running until 2028. But the question is whether the DFB wants to go down that path. According to consistent reports, the association wants to resolve the personnel question no earlier than after the team's return. But the next UEFA Nations League round begins as early as September — time for a decision is pressing.

In the background, the media discussions about a possible assumption of office by Klopp have long been underway. As national team coach, the 59-year-old could on the one hand return to the touchline, but on the other hand would not have the daily stress that came with a club job. After the German match, Klopp had said: "Ich habe einen Job, den ich sehr gerne mache." But his former boss at Red Bull had recently found clear words directed at the team.

Media pressure and personnel questions

The pressure on the DFB is mounting. "Es kommt jetzt darauf an, dass wir nicht in Hektik oder Aktionismus verfallen," the official had warned. But the longer the personnel question remains open, the stronger the media pull towards Klopp becomes. Twelve years after the World Cup triumph in Rio 2014, little remains of the former football great power. The question of whether Nagelsmann or Klopp represents the future is becoming a fateful one for German football.

In the midst of this debate, a look at other teams throws a spotlight on Germany's performance. Uruguay, twice world champion after all, was already eliminated in the group stage with only two points. Uruguayan coach Marcelo Bielsa had said in a 100-minute press conference: "Wovon ich absolut überzeugt bin, ist, dass es niemanden interessiert, was ich weiß." And Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had responded to US Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin's celebration of Iran's group-stage exit: "Mission erfüllt, Herr Mullin. Sie haben noch etwas anderes erreicht: Sie haben der Welt bewiesen, dass Sie nicht in der Lage sind, ein internationales Turnier auszurichten." Both episodes make clear that the 2026 World Cup is causing controversy not only in sporting terms, but also politically and in the media.

The coming days will show whether the DFB keeps its nerve or gives in to public pressure. One thing is certain: the discussion about Nagelsmann and Klopp will occupy the German football landscape for weeks to come.