DFB Faces Fundamental Decision: Klopp Open to Talks About the National Team Coach Position

DFB President Bernd Neuendorf, who had previously spoken publicly in the German World Cup base in Winston-Salem, classified the result as a severe blow. Neuendorf declared on the day after the elimination: "Wir können und wollen nach einem derartigen Tiefschlag mit Blick auf die anstehenden Aufgaben nicht einfach zur Tagesordnung übergehen." He also said: "Wir wollen nach einem derartigen Tiefschlag mit Blick auf die anstehenden Aufgaben nicht einfach zur Tagesordnung übergehen." The association's leadership around Neuendorf would come together in the coming days to discuss the future of Nagelsmann. A decision on whether the DFB would risk a radical fresh start was expected "in den kommenden Tagen."

DFB Leadership Announces Deliberations

Nagelsmann himself had ruled out resigning after the defeat in Foxborough and declared that he wanted to fulfill his contract running until Euro 2028. According to information from Sky, Nagelsmann is paid an annual salary of around seven million euros; in the event of a separation, the remaining contract value of approximately 14 million euros would form the basis for severance negotiations, according to consistent reports. There is also a purported "break-glass clause" in the contract, allegedly tied to a group-stage exit.

Meanwhile, Nagelsmann received backing from DFB Sporting Director Rudi Völler. The 66-year-old was the first association official to publicly speak out in favor of continuing the collaboration. In an interview on Magenta TV, Völler also responded to a remark by Klopp, who had used the word "noch" to suggest that Nagelsmann would continue to assemble the national team – which apparently annoyed Völler. Völler retorted to him and co-expert Thomas Müller with a wink: "Ihr seid ja mehr für die Komik zuständig."

Lahm and Hummels Demand Coaching Change

In the camp of former world champions, however, public pressure grew. Philipp Lahm and Mats Hummels spoke out in favor of separating from Nagelsmann. Hummels, the 37-year-old ex-BVB star and MagentaTV expert as well as 2014 world champion, said: "Wenn man die ganze Faktenlage gerade so sieht, würde ich sagen: Es muss sich auf der Trainerposition etwas ändern." He added: "Es ist schon irgendwo schwer vorstellbar, dass es so weitergehen soll." Additionally, Hummels criticized Nagelsmann's demeanor as "Schmallippig und patzig" – although he acknowledged that he might be emotionally biased, having not been nominated for the home European Championship.

On MagentaTV, Hummels named two candidates he could imagine as successors: Pep Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp. Both were "weltweit die besten Trainer der vergangenen 18 Jahre". In another statement, Hummels said: "Ich glaube, dass sowohl Pep Guardiola als auch Jürgen Klopp überall hinpassen – jede Vereinsmannschaft, jede Nationalmannschaft. Die beiden besten Trainer des vergangenen Jahrzehnts, der letzten 17, 18 Jahre in meinen Augen weltweit." Despite Guardiola's qualities, Hummels favored "aber ganz klar seinen alten Weggefährten Klopp". He said about Klopp: "Er könnte ein Land auch nochmal komplett hinter sich vereinen. Das hat er schon drin." Additionally, Hummels said: "Er könne sich beide Lösungen sehr gut vorstellen."

Klopp Points to Ongoing Contract

Klopp, the 59-year-old former successful coach of Mainz, Borussia Dortmund and FC Liverpool, also spoke on Magenta TV immediately after the match against Paraguay. He said: "Das ist nicht der Moment, um darüber wirklich zu sprechen, vor allem nicht mit mir. Es gibt dazu nichts zu sagen." He added with a view to the events: "Da muss man sich irgendwann anders drum kümmern." Klopp has been working as Global Head of Soccer at the Red Bull empire since January 2025; his contract still runs until the year 2029. The star coach does not have a classic exit clause in his contract. According to reports, Red Bull would demand a transfer fee in the single-digit million range for an early release.

Pep Guardiola, a 55-year-old Spaniard who had given up his post as Manchester City coach at the end of the season and is currently without a job, would also be a candidate purely from a sporting perspective. In his coaching career, Guardiola had won twelve national league titles in Spain, Germany and England as well as three Champions League titles with Barcelona and Manchester City. However, Guardiola has never been a national team coach; moreover, in its long history, the German national team has never yet had a single foreign head coach.

Guardiola as Second Option – with Obstacles

Former national players also had their say, including Bastian Schweinsteiger. The 41-year-old, currently working as an ARD expert, said: "Wenn du dreimal ausscheidest so früh bei einer Weltmeisterschaft, ist das kein Zufall mehr." On the causes of the failure, he said: "Wir haben unsere eigenen Stärken… unsere Tugenden, für die wir respektiert worden sind im Ausland, aufgegeben oder haben wir vernachlässigt. Was wir verloren haben, ist Robustheit, Identität, Kampf." Sami Khedira, 2014 world champion, also called the defeat against Paraguay "die Quittung für die letzten Jahre". He added: "Wir dürfen die Kinder nicht in Watte packen und sagen: Das Gewinnen ist nicht wichtig, wir müssen einfach nur die perfekte Technik haben" and demanded that at "auf dem absoluten Topniveau" a "Kombination aus Mentalität und Führungsqualitäten" was decisive.

Oliver Kahn, the former world-class goalkeeper, pointed to the successive failures under three national team coaches – Joachim Löw, Hansi Flick and Nagelsmann – in a LinkedIn post: "Bei der WM 2018 und 2022 in der Gruppenphase, jetzt im Sechzehntelfinale gegen Paraguay." Germany's elimination is reminiscent of the group-stage debacle in 2018 in Russia, when the DFB team, as defending champions, failed to advance past the group stage for the first time in the association's history. The tournament had also ended early in 2022.

Voices of the Ex-World Champions

Michael Ballack, former captain of the national team, was quoted as saying that the team lacked the so-called German virtues. Adidas CEO Björn Gulden had estimated before the tournament that more than three million DFB jerseys would be sold – three times as many as at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. In fact, the white home jerseys in black-red-gold as well as the dark away jersey with light blue elements are available online at Intersport, SportScheck, Breuninger, Otto, Sport2000 and Zalando for around 60 to 80 euros, with the away jersey reduced from 150 to about 100 euros.

Former DFB manager Oliver Bierhoff, meanwhile, spoke out in favor of a quick solution and named Klopp as his desired candidate. Bierhoff said: "Ich glaube, da braucht man keinen Fachmann zu sein, dass man sagt, Jürgen Klopp ist als Bundestrainer, sollte er gewechselt werden, natürlich der Wunschtrainer… Also sollte Julian Nagelsmann aufhören, sollte Jürgen Klopp das erste Ziel sein, ihn für den DFB zu gewinnen." At the same time, he expressed relief that no hasty decision was being made.

On social networks and among supporters, there is already loud speculation about a potential successor. Many fans fervently wish for Jürgen Klopp to take over the struggling DFB team. The Wednesday edition of Sportbild headlined: "Wir brauchen Klopp als Stimmungs-Dreher." Klopp had already become a favorite of television viewers as a ZDF expert during the 2006 home World Cup; at the time, he was in his late 30s and coach of Mainz 05.

According to reports, the German team's failure also caused a major stir in neighboring Austria. In the run-up, the association's sporting director Hannes Wolf, responsible for youth development at the DFB, had also broken ranks with consensus by pushing to set motivation rather than result