Klopp open to Germany manager job after penalty shootout elimination against Paraguay

What's new since July 1, 2026

What's new since July 1, 2026: compared to the previous version of the article, decisive new elements have emerged. Former DFB president Reinhard Grindel confirmed to the «Münchner Merkur» that the DFB had already planned in 2019 to entrust the national team to Klopp as Joachim Löw's successor: «Das wusste Klopp auch, weil ihm dies Vertreter des DFB im Frühjahr 2019 in Liverpool erläutert haben». Grindel explained that the plan was not pursued because of his resignation in April 2019, «Wegen meines Rücktritts sind diese Überlegungen offenbar nicht weiterverfolgt worden». Furthermore, Philipp Lahm publicly questioned Nagelsmann in the columns of «Kicker», while Oliver Bierhoff officially indicated Klopp as «Wunschtrainer».

Julian Nagelsmann returned to Germany from the World Cup without making any statements: at Munich airport he walked through a secondary exit in the rain, passing in front of a dozen journalists waiting for a reaction. The head coach, who had a contract running until the 2028 European Championship and an estimated salary of up to 7 million euros per year, had ruled out resigning after the match against Paraguay: «Ich bin keiner, der sagt, ich trete zurück, weil wir ausgeschieden sind. Und wenn man das nicht möchte, muss man das sagen».

Nagelsmann under pressure

According to the «Süddeutsche Zeitung», citing a DFB insider source, the outgoing head coach would now have «keine Chance mehr» of staying in his job, despite the federation having made it known that Nagelsmann will still be the one sitting at the table in the next talks. The verdict against Paraguay, lost 4-3 on penalties after a 3-3 draw in regular time, has been defined by the German media as «Trauerspiel», «Blamage» and «Armutszeugnis für Fußball-Deutschland».

Jürgen Klopp is under contract until 2029 as «Head of Global Soccer» at Red Bull, a role he has held since January 2025. However, according to media reports, he would be ready to make himself available for the national team bench: «Ich verstehe das, wenn über den Bundestrainer gesprochen wird, dass da irgendwie mein Name genannt wird», Klopp said in his capacity as a pundit for «MagentaTV». The former Mainz, Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool coach then added: «Da muss man jetzt einfach sagen: gut, da muss man sich irgendwann anders drum kümmern», confirming he wants to put the matter to rest after Germany's elimination to focus on the rest of the tournament.

Klopp is open, but his Red Bull contract remains an obstacle

Former DFB general director Oliver Bierhoff, who left his post after the group-stage elimination at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, spoke in favor of a cautious approach: «jetzt keine Kurzschlusshandlung», but he also recommended that the DFB move concretely toward Klopp: «Da braucht man kein Fachmann zu sein, um zu sagen, dass Jürgen Klopp als Bundestrainer, sollte er wechseln, natürlich der Wunschtrainer wäre». Bierhoff praised Klopp as «eine große Persönlichkeit, hat riesige Erfolge gefeiert und ist jemand, der sicherlich auch eine Mannschaft, ein ganzes Land mitreißen kann».

Mats Hummels, 2014 World Cup winner and now a pundit at «MagentaTV», was among the most unequivocal: «Wenn man die ganze Faktenlage gerade so sieht, würde ich sagen: Es muss sich auf der Trainerposition etwas ändern». Hummels, however, admitted a possible conflict of interest, given that Nagelsmann had not called him up for the home European Championship in 2024: «Da ist nicht alles sehr fair und ehrlich mit mir gelaufen. Das müssen wir, glaube ich, irgendwann mal in einem privaten Gespräch ausräumen. Das ist bisher nicht geschehen». On the match against Paraguay, Hummels noted that defender Jonathan Tah had to take the first penalty kick of his professional career as the sixth taker «weil alle anderen nicht mehr wollen, ist leider bezeichnend».

The critical voices of former world champions

Philipp Lahm, captain of 2014 World Cup-winning Germany and now a columnist for «Kicker», has also openly called for reflection on Nagelsmann: «Schon bei der Heim-EM haben wir nicht wirklich geglänzt. Danach blieb eine Entwicklung aus. Jetzt zu den Top 32 der Welt zu zählen, kann nicht unser Anspruch sein. Deswegen muss er hinterfragt werden». Lahm criticized the use of Joshua Kimmich as a right-back — «im Mittelfeld gehört er zur internationalen Klasse» — and lamented the absence of a «natürliche Hierarchie» in the squad.

Former goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, 1996 European champion and 2002 World Cup runner-up, defended the three head coaches who succeeded one another — Löw, Flick and Nagelsmann — arguing that the problem cannot be traced back to the coach: «Drei Bundestrainer sind am selben Punkt gescheitert. Wenn drei Trainer mit unterschiedlichen Ansätzen immer am selben Punkt scheitern, liegt die Ursache tiefer». According to Kahn, the root should be sought in the failure to train young players for responsibility: «Wer als junger Spieler immer wieder lernt, schwierige Entscheidungen zu treffen, Fehler auszuhalten und trotzdem den nächsten Ball zu fordern, entwickelt genau das, was große Turniere entscheidet». On the penalties against Paraguay he added: «Eine Spitzenmannschaft sucht in diesem Augenblick keine Freiwilligen. Sie hat Spieler, die den Ball verlangen».

On the institutional front, Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) had issued a message of solidarity with the team («Wer den Adler auf der Brust trägt, hat unseren Rückhalt verdient und nicht unseren Spott»), but it later emerged that this was a coordination error in the publication. The UEFA commissioner for the German national team will meet with director Andreas Rettig to take stock, while DFB vice-president Hans-Joachim Watzke — linked to Klopp from his Borussia Dortmund days — could play a mediating role.

Criticism of the federation's leadership

The criticism does not spare the federation's leadership. Former international Dietmar Hamann, a pundit at «Sky», has pointed the finger at Neuendorf and Rettig: «Ich glaube, es ist an der Zeit, die Herren Neuendorf und Rettig zu hinterfragen, wie das passieren konnte». Berti Vogts and Thomas Helmer have also criticized the team's mentality: «Wir haben entscheidende Entwicklungen im internationalen Fußball verpasst, das wird immer deutlicher». For Manuel Neuer, at the end of his last match for the national team, the moment remains positive on a personal level: «Trotz des bitteren Endes bereue ich diesen Schritt keine Sekunde».

Several observers have evoked the precedent of 2004, when the DFB — under Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder's presidency — installed the Jürgen Klinsmann–Joachim Löw duo after the European Championship exit, with results that later became historic. The 2017 two-year period, when Germany simultaneously won the Confederations Cup in Russia (with Löw) and the Under-21 European Championship in Poland (with Stefan Kuntz, and players such as Serge Gnabry, Nadiem Amiri and Maximilian Arnold), is also cited as a model of a generation winning at all levels at the same time.

Historical precedents and the generational question

The generation of 2014 world champions — Manuel Neuer, Jérôme Boateng, Sami Khedira, Mesut Özil, Mats Hummels, Benedikt Höwedes — had made their debut at the 2009 Under-21 European Championship. The subsequent path of reform in German football, launched after the 1998 disappointment, had taken years before producing results. According to some analysts, the lack of a stable hierarchy in the current squad — highlighted also by the fact that Nagelsmann convinced Neuer to return to the national team in 2024 — would reveal deeper gaps in the youth setup.

On the sponsorship and image front, Germany's elimination came at