Top News

The days leading up to the squad announcement have been anything but peaceful. National coach Julian Nagelsmann enters the World Cup under a cloud, his authority undermined by a surprising series of setbacks. This is a commentary on that decline.

Germany can already heave a sigh of relief—they have found their scapegoat! This is nothing new for German football, as history shows that when results go awry, blame is quickly assigned. Should the national team falter at the upcoming World Cup, responsibility has already been pinned on one man.

Just as after the humiliating exit from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, attention will again shift from the pitch to the broader picture. Back then, debates revolved around the team’s political gestures and players’ public statements—issues many believed distracted from performance.

Four years later, the focus is firmly on the present, during these final Bundesliga matchdays. “There will be decisions that probably won’t be met with much understanding,” Nagelsmann told kicker on 1 March when speaking about his World Cup selection. It was a key declaration in a notably detailed interview in which the coach, unlike many before him, openly critiqued individual players—sometimes unsolicited.

That forecast has already proven accurate, even before the final squad for the tournament in the USA, Canada, and Mexico is made official. A major factor is the communication debacle surrounding Manuel Neuer’s reinstatement as first-choice goalkeeper. The situation has spiralled out of control, shaking Nagelsmann’s credibility both publicly and, quite likely, within parts of his own squad.

Nagelsmann now finds himself walking straight into a storm of controversy.

At the same time, it’s worth acknowledging that information leaks have been flowing freely to the media for days, detailing which players are in and which can begin planning their holidays. The German Football Association (DFB) will hardly welcome such leaks, which are rare at this scale among major footballing nations.

Consequently, Thursday’s official announcement is unlikely to bring any surprises; the suspense has already faded. Nagelsmann’s explanations, especially concerning the goalkeeper position, will therefore face intense scrutiny. Several potential pitfalls await him, as recent missteps illustrate.

From his surprising decision to move Joshua Kimmich from right-back to midfield, to conflicting remarks about Leon Goretzka and especially Aleksandar Pavlovic—whom he recently mischaracterised on Aktuelles Sportstudio—to the Deniz Undav controversy, Nagelsmann has already made a string of misjudgments, and he alone must carry the consequences.

Nagelsmann’s television appearance has further tarnished his image.

Take, for example, his appearance on ZDF last Saturday. While it was commendable that he did not cancel the long-planned interview, even after delaying the squad announcement, the timing could not have been worse. With the goalkeeping debate involving Neuer and Oliver Baumann dominating headlines, expectations were sky-high.

However, Nagelsmann disappointed across the board, offering no meaningful insights and refusing to address personnel issues. He even claimed not to have seen the 55-man preliminary list that had to be submitted to FIFA. He would have been better off staying home instead of making the trip to the Mainz studio. As a result, the appearance has unquestionably dented his professional standing.

Nagelsmann’s recent decline in form has been evident.

That shift is clear from the reactions in countless comment sections across media outlets and among fans. His credibility has plummeted, marking a dramatic downturn.

Just two years ago, on the eve of the home European Championship, the 38-year-old was enjoying soaring popularity and widespread approval. Now, his methods are under fire from experts and even influential figures like Uli Hoeneß, with public sentiment turning sharply against him.

As Thursday’s squad announcement approaches, there’s little sense of excitement or optimism ahead of Germany’s first group-stage match in a few weeks, despite the team’s current seven-match winning streak.

Germany’s group fixtures for the 2026 World Cup