BERLIN — In the wake of Germany’s stunning early elimination from the latest World Cup, national team head coach Julian Nagelsmann sat down for a high-stakes crisis meeting with German Football Association (DFB) leadership at the federation’s Berlin headquarters on Thursday, where he faced questioning over his squad’s underwhelming tournament performance.
Nagelsmann’s position as head coach has been thrown into serious doubt just days after Germany fell to Paraguay in a penalty shootout in the tournament’s first knockout round, capping off a run that has heaped widespread criticism on the 38-year-old tactician. Back home in Germany, Nagelsmann has faced growing backlash over a string of controversial decisions: inconsistent public messaging, sudden reversals of previously stated selection policies, persistent faith in underperforming star players at the expense of in-form alternatives, and a general failure to unlock the potential of a squad widely expected to compete deep in the tournament. His tense, irritable interactions with reporters during the competition did little to soften public or media criticism.
Though Nagelsmann publicly committed to seeing out his role immediately following Germany’s exit, DFB president Bernd Neuendorf made clear the day after the defeat that the federation would conduct a full, unrushed review of what went wrong. “After such a crushing blow, we cannot and do not wish to simply return to business as usual,” Neuendorf said in his statement.
This tournament marks the third consecutive early World Cup exit for German men’s football – a humbling result for a nation with a deep cultural passion for the sport and a legacy as one of the game’s most decorated programs, with four World Cup titles to its name. Ahead of the current tournament, Nagelsmann stoked high expectations by publicly declaring the team’s goal was to lift the World Cup trophy once again, a target the squad ultimately never came close to reaching.
Germany’s tournament got off to a promising start with a comfortable win over first-time qualifier Curaçao, but struggled through a narrow late win over Ivory Coast, where a pair of late goals from substitute Deniz Undav secured three points. A surprise group-stage loss to Ecuador followed, setting up the knockout round defeat to Paraguay.
Compounding the embarrassment, details have emerged of poor pre-tournament preparation: before the penalty shootout against Paraguay, multiple German players turned down captain Joshua Kimmich’s request for volunteers to take penalties, revealing the team had not planned for a shootout scenario. Defender Jonathan Tah, who stepped up to take the decisive penalty that went wide, opened up about the miss on social media this week. “I’ve replayed that missed penalty in my mind thousands of times, trying to somehow steer the ball into the net in my thoughts,” Tah wrote on Instagram. “The reality is that the ball didn’t go in. And that hurts. But one thing is certain – I would take it again.”
German tabloid Bild reported Thursday’s crisis meeting ran for roughly three hours, during which Nagelsmann acknowledged tactical misjudgments during the tournament and addressed widespread criticism of the team’s pre-tournament training camp in Winston-Salem. Nagelsmann currently holds a contract as Germany head coach through the 2028 European Championship, but multiple reports indicate Neuendorf and other top DFB officials have asked him to step down. A final decision on the coach’s future is expected within the coming days.