For Germany fans the unthinkable has happened: not only another early exit at a major tournament but a first World Cup penalty shootout loss. Paraguay stunned them in Boston to reach the last 16, leaving a great football nation in danger of falling further behind. As the dust settles, the question every fan is asking is whether the German Football Association will sack head coach Julian Nagelsmann and bring in Jurgen Klopp.
Nagelsmann, the 38-year-old former Bayern Munich boss, refused to quit. “I’m not someone who runs away,” he said. But the German fans are in need of hope, and Nagelsmann simply cannot provide that at this moment. He hasn’t done himself any favours with the way he communicates in public – easily irritable and brash. Meanwhile, charismatic Klopp, the former Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund boss, has been a star pundit on German TV during the World Cup, being his usual funny and charming self. Fans know you cannot simply replace 20 players, but you can replace the manager.
“Germany suffer first World Cup penalty shootout loss as fans clamour for Jurgen Klopp to replace Julian Nagelsmann.”
Since their most recent World Cup success in 2014, Germany have twice failed to make it out of the group stage – in 2018 and 2022 – and lost in the first knockout match of the 2026 finals. Domestically German football is booming. Bundesliga stadiums are packed; even third-division games attract tens of thousands each weekend. But the depth of extraordinary talent does not exist in Germany at this point in time. Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala and Bayern Munich’s latest rising star Lennart Karl are among a new crop of players that can excite fans, but the well has run dry.
There is a historical precedent for recovery. Following a quarter-final exit at the 1998 World Cup and an embarrassing group stage exit at Euro 2000, the German football association made fundamental changes to the nationwide development of youth players and the education of football coaches. Whether the German FA is capable of making substantial changes once again remains to be seen. Structural changes will need time, but a managerial change could happen almost immediately.
In the aftermath of Monday’s loss, Nagelsmann rejected the notion that he should resign. Germany captain Joshua Kimmich said he hoped Nagelsmann remains in charge, arguing that the team have been responsible for the embarrassing outcome. “The fact of the matter is that we couldn’t give the people at home [what we wanted],” said Kimmich. With the nation craving hope and Klopp waiting in the wings, Nagelsmann’s grip on the job looks increasingly fragile.