Jurgen Klopp is priced at 2/5 to become Germany's next head coach — and if Thursday's three-hour grilling of Julian Nagelsmann at DFB headquarters in Frankfurt is anything to go by, that job could open up sooner rather than later.
Germany went out of the World Cup on penalties to Paraguay in the round of 32. Kai Havertz, Nick Woltemade and Jonathan Tah all missed from the spot in a 4-3 shootout defeat, ending a tournament that had started with genuine promise — a 7-1 demolition of Curacao, a 2-1 win over Ivory Coast — but unravelled badly from there. A 2-1 group-stage loss to Ecuador was the warning sign. The Paraguay result was the consequence.
What happened in Frankfurt
The DFB summoned Nagelsmann to their Frankfurt base on Thursday, according to BILD, and spent three hours questioning him — on his tactical decisions, on the team's poor performance, and on what's been described as a "family and friends atmosphere" around Germany's training camp. His girlfriend, journalist Lena Wurzenberger, had been visible around the first team setup throughout the tournament, including watching substitutes warm down after the Curacao game. Lothar Matthaus went further, claiming players were distracted arranging travel for their partners.
These aren't minor grumbles. When the DFB is formally interrogating its own head coach days after elimination, the relationship is already broken — whatever the official line says.
Nagelsmann insists he won't walk. "I'm not going to step back only because we are eliminated," he said. "If the DFB want me to continue, I am going to continue." He also acknowledged: "I don't think everyone in Germany will agree with me staying on." That's putting it diplomatically. This is his third consecutive tournament elimination — last-eight exit at Euro 2024 against Spain, fourth place at the 2025 Nations League Finals, now a round of 32 exit at the World Cup. The pattern is hard to defend.
Klopp's position — and what Germany would be getting
Klopp has been working in a global football development role at Red Bull since leaving Liverpool in 2024, after nine years at Anfield that included the Champions League and Premier League. He told Magenta TV he "hasn't thought about" the Germany job yet, and pointed out his Red Bull role "isn't a part-time job." Both things can be true simultaneously — and neither rules him out.
At 2/5, the market has already made up its mind. If Germany pulls the trigger, Klopp would take over with autumn's Nations League on the immediate horizon and Euro 2028 qualification following shortly after — a tournament hosted across the UK and Ireland that Germany would be expected to target seriously.
The question isn't really whether Klopp is the right fit. It's whether Nagelsmann survives the next 48 hours.
