The German Football Association (DFB) has parted ways with men's national team head coach Julian Nagelsmann following the team's early exit from the FIFA World Cup, and has opened talks with Jurgen Klopp about taking over the role.
Nagelsmann's contract, which had been due to run until 2028, was terminated with immediate effect, the DFB announced on Friday. The decision came just days after Germany's exit from the World Cup at the last-32 stage, a result widely seen as a major disappointment for a four-time world champion nation.
According to the DFB, Nagelsmann had asked to be released from his duties following a crisis meeting at the federation's Frankfurt headquarters on Thursday. That request was granted. In a statement carried by the DFB, Nagelsmann said he had spent the days since the elimination reflecting and speaking with people close to him personally and within the federation.
"The decision was anything but easy for me," Nagelsmann said in a statement. "My top priority has always been the success of the team. After such a bitter disappointment, it deserves the chance of a new beginning." Nagelsmann apologised to fans for the early exit. "I am sorry and hurt from the bottom of my heart that we disappointed you and couldn't give you any more football nights at this World Cup."
Nagelsmann's assistant coaches, Benjamin Glück and Benjamin Hübner, are also leaving the DFB as part of the shake-up. DFB sporting director Rudi Völler thanked Nagelsmann for his work, describing him as an excellent coach and expressing confidence that he will continue his career successfully elsewhere. Bild also reported that Nagelsmann had been offered a severance package worth roughly seven million euros, about one year's salary, to end his contract early.
Attention has now turned to Jurgen Klopp as Nagelsmann's likely successor. In its statement, the DFB said Klopp has "already signalled his fundamental willingness to take on the position," and that discussions with him are now underway.
Klopp, the former Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund manager who led Liverpool to Champions League and Premier League titles, is currently employed as Red Bull's head of global football. Sky Germany has reported that Klopp has a verbal agreement in place allowing him to leave that position in order to take the Germany job.
Germany's World Cup campaign ended in the early hours of Tuesday, when the team lost 3-4 on penalties to underdogs Paraguay in the round of 32 in Foxborough, near Boston. The result meant Germany missed the round of 16 for a third consecutive World Cup, having already been eliminated at the group stage in both Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022.
Germany's recent record at the European Championship has followed a similar pattern of underperformance. The team was knocked out by England in the round of 16 at Euro 2020, and lost to eventual champions Spain on home soil at Euro 2024.
By moving quickly to part ways with Nagelsmann straight after the World Cup, the DFB appears keen to avoid repeating past situations in which coaches were kept in place too long following disappointing tournaments. Joachim Löw, who won the World Cup in 2014, remained in charge for three years after the 2018 exit before eventually leaving, while Hansi Flick departed a year after the 2022 tournament.
Nagelsmann took over the Germany job from Flick in September 2023, initially on a short-term deal covering Euro 2024. He extended his contract shortly before that tournament and signed a further extension in January 2025 that was set to keep him in the role beyond Euro 2028.
His appointment had originally been viewed as a coup for the DFB, given reported interest from top European clubs at the time. Nagelsmann had already made history as the youngest coach in Bundesliga history when he took charge of Hoffenheim at age 28, and went on to manage both Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig before joining the national team.
There were signs of progress under his leadership at Euro 2024, where Germany won their group before being eliminated in extra time by eventual champions Spain in the quarter-finals. That momentum, however, did not carry through to this year's World Cup, ultimately costing Nagelsmann his job.
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