Matthäus demands end of the Nagelsmann era after World Cup exit

The 65-year-old also said he was surprised, but not sad:"Wenn man das Gesamte sieht: Ich bin nicht traurig. Ich bin überrascht, dass man gegen eine so schwache Mannschaft ausscheiden kann. Aber ich bin nicht traurig aufgrund der gezeigten Leistung."

Captain Joshua Kimmich received explicit backing from Matthäus. The record national team player defended the Munich player against criticism and said:"Er ist für mich nach wie vor ein Spieler der auch in den nächsten Jahren bei der Nationalmannschaft dabei sein wird." Matthäus praised Kimmich's leadership qualities:"Er ist ja einer, der führen will, das zeigt er auch bei Bayern München." At the same time, he criticized the tactical use of Kimmich in the right-back position:"Du musst ihn halt auf die richtige Position stellen. Ich glaube nicht, dass er sich hinten rechts wohl gefühlt hat."

DFB sporting director Rudi Völler struck a different tone after the defeat. He explicitly backed Nagelsmann, who had been installed in September 2023 as the successor to Hansi Flick:"Ich bin immer noch überzeugt davon, dass er der Richtige ist." Völler recalled that Nagelsmann had been "die Wunschlösung" when he was appointed. The national team head coach himself also made clear that he was available to continue. His contract with the DFB runs until after the 2028 European Championship.

Nagelsmann had experienced the World Cup exit in a penalty shootout. During the match itself, a goal by Jonathan Tah had been disallowed for an alleged foul, which the coach commented on as "Das ist nicht nur ein Skandal, das ist ein Vollskandal". The German team had been under Nagelsmann for 37 matches at the time of elimination, with his tenure having lasted a little more than 1,000 days at that point. At the home European Championship, the team had reached the quarterfinals under him.

Jürgen Klopp, meanwhile, did not enter the discussion about a successor. Asked about speculation as to whether he would be available as national team head coach, he merely stated:"Ich verstehe, dass mein Name genannt wird. Aber es ist nicht der Moment. Es gibt dazu nichts zu sagen." According to the German Football Association, the final decision on the appointment to the coaching position rests with the federation itself.

Independent of the coaching question, the condition of the pitches provided talking points on the margins of the tournament. French midfielder Adrien Rabiot, 31 years old, criticized the state of the pitch at the final stadium in East Rutherford after the first group match against Senegal (3:1)."Es ist ein Fakt, dass wir in Europa auf Plätzen spielen, die in einer besseren Verfassung sind", said Rabiot, who at the same time noted a "leichte Verbesserung". World governing body FIFA rejected the criticism, stating that all 16 World Cup stadiums were "in einem hervorragenden Zustand, sowohl was die Bespielbarkeit als auch die Sicherheit der Spieler betrifft". The final is scheduled for 19 July in East Rutherford. The tournament is being held for the first time with 48 teams in 12 preliminary-round groups and is based in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.