'No longer among world's best' - The reaction in Germany to 'nightmare' 2026 FIFA World Cup exit - and should Jurgen Klopp replace Julian Nagelsmann?

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Germany's shock 2026 FIFA World Cup defeat to Paraguay on penalties brought another international tournament to a crashing close, with Julian Nagelsmann's side falling at the first hurdle of the knockout stages in dramatic fashion.

Julian Nagelsmann after Germany's defeat to Paraguay.

Image credit: Getty Images

Their last 32 loss to the South Americans means that Germany have now failed to reach the semi-finals of their last five major tournaments.

Germany's run of disappointments followed winning the World Cup in 2014 after a root-and-branch overhaul of football in the country.

Newspaper Bild called the defeat "the next German football nightmare", and columnist Marion Horn said: "German football is now living solely off its past reputation."

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And according to Eurosport Germany's Marc Hlusiak, early exits on the international stage are now "the new normal".

"Statistics don't lie," Hlusiak said. "Especially not when they're based on an entire decade.

"Germany is no longer among the world's best, even though the players at their clubs give the impression of having the quality to be there."

With the scores level at 1-1 after a tense 90 minutes in Boston, Germany thought they had taken the lead in extra time when Jonathan Tah headed home, only for his effort to be controversially chalked off over for a foul on Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill.

And in the penalty shoot-out, Kai Havertz and Nick Woltemade failed to convert their attempts, whilst Paraguay scored all of their first three, opening up the opportunity for Antonio Sanabria to win the match, but he failed to do so, firing his penalty wide and the shoot-out continued.

Nick Woltemade reacts after his penalty was saved

Image credit: Getty Images

Germany, normally so reliable from the spot, gave Paraguay another chance to win when Tah blazed his effort over, and it was a chance that they did not spurn, with Jose Canale making no mistake from the spot to send Paraguay through and Germany out of the World Cup.

The defeat raised questions about the future of manager Nagelsmann.

Nagelsmann said he would not walk away from his position after their exit, but did echo Hlusiak's sentiment, saying: "This is the third elimination in a row, so we are not part of the first-class teams anymore."

According to Eurosport Germany's Christoph Niederkofler, Nagelsmann did not help himself with some of his team selections, most notably highlighted by breaking up the Bayern Munich midfield duo of Aleksandar Pavlovic and Joshua Kimmich, with the latter shunted out to right-back.

"The Germany coach made the extraordinary - and ultimately unnecessary - choice to deploy Kimmich at right-back, a position he has barely played for Bayern in recent years," Niederkofler said.

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"In doing so, he stripped Kimmich of the qualities that make him such an influential and creative leader in midfield. At right-back, his lack of pace is simply too significant to be offset by his intelligence and playmaking ability.

"Here's a thought experiment to illustrate the point. Imagine a national team fortunate enough to have the double pivot of one of the world's best clubs at its disposal - only to voluntarily break up that partnership.

"That is exactly what Nagelsmann did."

The pressure on Nagelsmann's position is at an all-time high, in particular with former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp waiting in the wings.

Klopp has been out of management since leaving Anfield in 2024, but has been strongly linked to the Germany post in recent months.

Hlusiak believes that if the German Football Association decides to move on from Nagelsmann, there is "at least a 60% chance" of Klopp leading the nation into Euro 2028.

"Whether he's the answer is hard to say," he explained. "One thing is certain, Klopp knows how to inspire people, and keep the mood in the country high.

"Klopp is likeable, rhetorically refreshingly young, and different - people believe him. Klopp would definitely generate euphoria, and is probably our biggest coaching star of the last 20 years."

'Success is often closely linked to stagnation'

When Germany won the 2014 World Cup, they were seen as the pinnacle of the game at that time, having completely reinvented the way they went about producing players.

But, since then, they have struggled to have the same success, with Hlusiak hypothesising that perhaps the country "rested on their laurels" after their success 12 years ago.

"One could perhaps argue that they… [gave] the players and management too much credit and thus hindering further development," he said.

"Success is often closely linked to stagnation, and that's precisely where the danger lies. They clung to Joachim Low for too long; they should have parted ways after Euro 2016.

"This created a kind of downward spiral that neither [Hansi] Flick nor Nagelsmann were able to control."

One thing it is hard to argue is that despite their struggles, Germany are not lacking star players, with Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala some of the best in their positions.

But Hlusiak highlights that in a World Cup where all the stars have showed up, Germany's failed to deliver on the biggest stage.

"Every top nation has players who deliver. [Kylian] Mbappe and [Ousmane] Dembele for France, [Jude] Bellingham and [Harry] Kane for England, [Lionel] Messi for Argentina, [Erling] Haaland for Norway," he said.

"Germany has these players on paper, too. Wirtz and Musiala were supposed to carry the team, provide those special moments.

"However, Musiala has been struggling to regain his form since breaking his fibula at the Club World Cup, and Wirtz is currently fighting his way out of a slump after a difficult first season at Liverpool.

"Without these exceptional talents, the German team's play quickly descends into mediocrity - and that's alarming."

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