After the false start in World Cup qualifying, the German national team is under pressure. Experts list a number of shortcomings. One accusation: The players wouldn’t put their horsepower on the road. However, Oliver Bierhoff doubts that this horsepower even exists.
During his time in office he was always available for good sayings. “When I walk on water,” former national coach Berti Vogts once said, “my critics say: And he can’t swim either.” The now 78-year-old was national coach from 1990 to 1998 – and was one of the eleven predecessors of Julian Nagelsmann, who has held the most important coaching job in German football for two years. Vogts, who won the European Championship title with Germany in 1996, also said the following: “There are no more little ones.”
With the sentence he was referring to opponents during his time in office who seemed to be easy to defeat because of their footballing quality, but who, in Vogts’ opinion, should not be underestimated. He was often ridiculed for the sentence.
On Friday evening, when the German national soccer team visits Sinzheim in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup (8:45 p.m./ARD), the opponent is ranked 96th in the world. Luxembourg is also one that supposedly should be easy to defeat. Only who knows in times like these, when the German Football Association’s selection reveals major weaknesses, like in September when it made a false start in the World Cup qualification. They lost 2-0 in Slovakia and then struggled to a 3-1 win against Northern Ireland.
Criticism of the Kroos brothers
In Sinsheim, where the now 38-year-old Nagelsmann started as the youngest Bundesliga coach at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in February 2016, the national team would like to dispel any doubts about her. She wants to show strength and dominance again – and try to appease the supporters with good football, who recently acknowledged the weak performances with whistles.
The criticism that had fallen silent before, during and immediately after the home European Championships last year has increased again. Experts are increasingly speaking out. With clear words, but also with advice. Matthias Sammer, European champion in 1996, told Sky that Julian Nagelsmann was looking for “the right solution and stability for our team”: “And that’s about continuity and trust. Give this team these things. I know a lot of these players. We still have enough qualities. I don’t know whether we can win the title, but losing in Slovakia makes no sense.”
A few weeks ago, Felix Kroos said in the “Einfach mal Luppen” podcast, which he recorded with his brother Toni, that it was not a good sign how easy it would currently be to become a national player. “When I look at the squad, I also doubt that you knew all the players who were there. Am I correct in my assumption?” he said to his brother – and he replied: “You have a point there. Can you blame me for that?”
Bierhoff asks which clubs the professionals play in
Oliver Bierhoff believes that the national team got the most out of last year’s European Championships thanks to their unity, their enthusiasm, their joy in playing and the support of the audience.
“Overall, however, you have to remember,” former DFB director Bierhoff told WELT: “That there is less quality than we think we have. But that was already the case in 2016. You don’t have to be an expert to recognize that. You simply have to see which clubs the players are under contract with and how many international games each of them has already played. It makes a difference whether you perform well in the Bundesliga for six months, which is not a criterion for international class or whether you are regularly challenged on the international stage.”
After the preliminary round exit at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the DFB parted ways with Bierhoff. The long-time striker, who scored the golden goal in a 2-1 win against the Czech Republic in the 1996 European Championship final, founded FINVIA Sports GmbH last year, which advises athletes on investments and financial issues.
With a view to the German national team and its fluctuating form, Bierhoff also points to a problem: “Because there have been a lot of changes in one position or another in the last few months – of course occasionally due to injuries – it is difficult to get used to it as a team and therefore find it. If players like Wirtz, Musiala, Havertz, Tah or Schlotterbeck are out, there are players in the back. But if I do that with the team Compared to 2014, we lack a lot more personalities today and also quality.”
Bierhoff relies on Woltemade
As far as the World Cup is concerned, Bierhoff added, “there remains hope that one or two players will continue to improve and develop. Nick Woltemade, for example. He didn’t have the best debut in the national team, but he had a good start in England. It will also be important that all players are fit. Otherwise it will be difficult in games against the top nations.”
At least Luxembourg does not belong in this category. And yet the question remains whether the German selection will manage to make a statement.
National coach Nagelsmann has used 52 players in 25 international matches so far, including 19 debutants. Ten of the 19 are also part of the current DFB squad. Nevertheless, Nagelsmann, whose points average of 1.8 is only bettered by predecessor Hans-Dieter Flick (1.72) and former team boss Erich Ribbeck (1.5), remains a seeker – in terms of the game system and also the fixed points in his team, which is made more difficult by the injuries of some stars.
Kai Havertz, for example, will no longer play an international match in 2025. Jamal Musiala seriously injured his leg at the Club World Cup in the summer. Marc-André ter Stegen, intended as the World Cup goalkeeper, was missing for months after a patellar tendon rupture and currently due to back surgery. Niclas Füllkrug was also stopped by several injuries. Now the coach has no longer nominated the West Ham United striker. Gladbach center forward Tim Kleindienst is missing due to a knee injury, and vice-captain Antonio Rüdiger is also out of defense.
Schlotterbeck is back in defense
At least Nico Schlotterbeck, who is expected to be a permanent fixture in the defense, is fit again. He will play in defense alongside Jonathan Tah and Waldemar Anton on Friday. Joshua Kimmich is the captain in midfield – Florian Wirtz, Serge Gnabry and Nick Woltemade are likely to be the anchors on offense. The latter was recently ill.
The national coach said just a few weeks ago that Germany had “many pillars” when it came to winning the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. “For us, many pillars were and are injured.” Nevertheless, he didn’t want to “complain,” added the coach, who no longer wants to talk about the highest World Cup goals for the time being. It must have been a big lesson from the games in September to stop doing this for the time being. “We want to do more and talk less,” Nagelsmann said before naming the current squad.
While supporters and experts sometimes view the national coach’s work with skepticism, he enjoys support in the association. Sports director Rudi Völler regularly describes Nagelsmann as a “stroke of luck” for the DFB. The upcoming games against Luxembourg and Monday in Belfast against Northern Ireland are not about “playing beautifully or spectacularly,” warned Völler. It’s about “being awake and playing better.” In 2001, Völler had to play as team boss in the World Cup play-offs against Ukraine (0:0/4:1) and knows how great the pressure would be if the German national team stumbled again.
In order to avoid this, intensive work has been carried out over the past few days. After taking photos for advertising partners on Monday, training started on Tuesday. The sessions lasted up to two hours. One or two players also put in an extra shift. Florian Wirtz, for example, who is not coping well after his 130 million euro move to Liverpool FC, did goal-scoring training and also went to the weight room.
The German national team has won twelve of the 13 games against Luxembourg so far. Luxembourg’s only victory dates back to March 26, 1939. Germany lost 2-1 in Differdange.
