Germany’s men’s national soccer program is facing a leadership shakeup after a historic third straight early World Cup exit, with head coach Julian Nagelsmann stepping down and former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp emerging as the leading candidate to take over the role, the German Football Federation (DFB) confirmed in an official announcement Friday.
Nagelsmann’s departure comes four days after Germany suffered a stunning penalty shootout defeat to Paraguay in the round of 32, a result that extended the country’s decades-long drought of knockout-stage success at the world’s biggest soccer tournament. Germany has not won a World Cup knockout match since claiming its 2014 title in a final against Argentina, with the latest early exit following group-stage eliminations at the 2018 Russia World Cup and 2022 Qatar tournament.
The 38-year-old coach, who took the reins of the national side in 2023 and extended his contract last year through Euro 2028, initially said he would honor the remaining two years of his deal — which reportedly made him one of the highest-paid coaches at this year’s tournament — and insisted after the exit that he was “not one to walk away.” But after returning to Germany for crisis talks with DFB leadership Thursday, he reversed course, saying a clean break was in the best interest of the team.
“In the days since we went out I’ve done a lot of thinking and spoken with trusted people in my personal life and at the federation,” Nagelsmann said in a public statement. “This decision was anything but easy for me. My main aim has always been the team’s success. After such a bitter disappointment, they’ve earned the chance for a completely fresh start.”
Nagelsmann faced intense public and media criticism throughout the tournament over his tactical choices and squad selection. Controversial calls included recalling 40-year-old veteran goalkeeper Manuel Neuer to the starting squad ahead of the tournament after using Oliver Baumann for all qualifying matches, repositioning regular Bayern Munich midfielder Joshua Kimmich to right-back instead of fielding a specialist in the role, and consistently starting winger Leroy Sane — a former Bayern colleague of Nagelsmann’s. The fallout from these choices was visible in Germany’s loss to Paraguay: amateur stand-in Waldemar Anton, a natural central defender, was forced to cover Kimmich’s right-back position late in the match, while in-form striker Nick Woltemade — who played every minute of Germany’s qualifying campaign — remained benched until the final minutes of the knockout fixture.
The DFB confirmed Friday that it intends to open formal talks with Klopp, who has already privately signaled he is open to taking the national team job. This would mark Klopp’s first senior coaching position since he stepped down from Liverpool at the end of the 2023-2024 Premier League season. Currently, Klopp serves as global head of soccer for the Red Bull Group, and worked as a high-profile pundit for German television during this year’s World Cup, even conducting pitchside post-match interviews with Nagelsmann during the tournament. When asked about the vacancy earlier this week, Klopp downplayed the speculation, saying “I haven’t thought about it” and calling it “not the moment to really talk about it.”
The news of Nagelsmann’s resignation drew a formal statement of recognition from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s office. “The chancellor thanks Julian Nagelsmann for his commitment and service in recent years as national team coach,” Merz spokesperson Stefan Kornelius told reporters during a scheduled press conference where the breaking news broke.
Nagelsmann is far from the only high-profile men’s head coach to exit his post after an early elimination from this year’s World Cup. Just hours after Germany’s defeat to Paraguay, Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman stepped down following his own side’s surprise penalty shootout exit. Coaches leading Ecuador, South Korea, Scotland and the Czech Republic have all departed their roles after early exits, while Argentina legend Marcelo Bielsa moved forward with a pre-planned departure from Uruguay even before the team’s group-stage elimination was confirmed.
Germany does not return to competitive action until a September 24 Nations League fixture against the Netherlands, giving the DFB time to finalize a deal for Klopp before the new national team cycle begins.