Germany’s shock exit from the World Cup round of 32 will trigger changes within the national set-up, the country’s football association said on 30 June, a day after the four-time world champions crashed out early for the third tournament running.
The Germans, who were eliminated in the group stages of both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, were beaten 4-3 on penalties by outsiders Paraguay on 29 June, and have now failed to win a single knockout match since lifting the trophy in Brazil back in 2014.
DFB president Bernd Neuendorf said the association would take time to understand what had gone wrong. “In the coming days, we will calmly examine the reasons why the team was unable to realise its potential and failed to meet both its own expectations and those of the German football community,” he said in a statement. “After such a crushing blow, we cannot and will not simply return to business as usual as we look toward the tasks ahead.”
Neuendorf has been in charge of the DFB since 2022 and has now overseen two early World Cup exits, alongside a quarter-final defeat at Euro 2024, the tournament Germany hosted on home soil.
Head coach Julian Nagelsmann, who took charge in September 2023 and is contracted until 2028, said after the defeat that he would like to remain in the role, though he acknowledged the decision was no longer his to make. Nagelsmann became, at 38, the youngest coach to take charge of a World Cup knockout match in 40 years when Germany faced Paraguay, a milestone that has done little to silence questions from fans and pundits over whether he should be given more time.
Neuendorf confirmed he had held lengthy talks with Nagelsmann and the wider sporting leadership, including national team director Rudi Voeller, following the defeat. “We agree that our performance at the World Cup fell short of our standards,” he said. “We would like to thank all the fans who supported us so magnificently, both in the USA and Canada and back home. We are all deeply disappointed that our shared journey has come to an end so early.”
