Klopp Dismisses Germany Job Talk as Nagelsmann Faces Pressure After Paraguay Loss

Germany’s World Cup exit has reopened an old national debate. Jurgen Klopp is at the heart of it again – and wants no part of it. Not now.

The four-time world champions crashed out in the round of 32 in Boston, beaten 4-3 on penalties by Paraguay after a 1-1 draw that stretched through extra time and into a nerve-shredding shootout. It was Germany’s first-ever penalty shootout defeat at a World Cup, a statistic that underlined the scale of the collapse.

Within minutes, the questions turned from the night to the future. Julian Nagelsmann’s. And inevitably, Klopp’s.

Sitting in the MagentaTV studio as a pundit, the former Liverpool manager – now Red Bull’s head of global soccer – was pushed on what would need to happen for him to consider the national job. He cut that line of inquiry off quickly.

“I haven’t thought about that yet,” he said, in comments reported by Bild. He spoke like a coach who recognised the rawness of the moment because he has lived it himself. “I’ve often been in that situation myself as a coach, where a big dream has been shattered.”

The cameras lingered. The speculation swirled. Klopp refused to feed it.

“I understand that when people talk about the national coach, my name is mentioned. But it’s not the right moment to talk about it, especially not with me.

“I have a job that I really enjoy. And as far as I know, it’s not a part-time job. The fact is, Germany was eliminated today, and this is not the moment for me to think about Jurgen Klopp’s future.”

For now, the DFB’s dilemma is Nagelsmann, not Klopp.

Nagelsmann under fire, but not backing down

Germany had arrived in the knockouts having topped Group E, despite a 2-1 defeat to Ecuador in their final group match. It looked like they had steadied themselves. It looked like they had learned from recent tournament failures.

Then came Paraguay.

Julio Enciso struck first, Kai Havertz replied, and from there Germany wrestled with their own nerves as much as the opposition. Havertz’s equaliser dragged them back into the tie, but the decisive moment in open play seemed to belong to Jonathan Tah, who thought he had headed Germany into the last 16 in extra time. VAR intervened, and the goal was ruled out. The reprieve galvanised Paraguay; it rattled Germany.

The shootout became a long, painful unraveling.

Havertz missed. Nick Woltemade missed. Paraguay blinked too, with Antonio Sanabria and Fabian Balbuena both spurning match-winning chances. The tension climbed with every step from the halfway line.

Then Tah, already scarred by the disallowed header, sent his kick off target. Jose Canale stepped up and buried his, sealing a 4-3 win on sudden death and sending Germany home.

Nagelsmann walked into his post-match press conference knowing the narrative that awaited him. He didn’t flinch.

“I’m not one to run away,” he said. “It’s not the first time, but it’s been happening for a while now that we’ve been delivering tournaments like this and yes, there are certainly a few basic things that I don’t want to go into now.

“I’m not one of those people who sits here and says, ‘I’m resigning now, just because we’ve been eliminated’. If the DFB wants me to continue then I’ll continue and if they don’t want me to, then they can tell me that.”

The message was blunt: the decision lies with the federation. He will not jump.

Havertz “lost for words” after another World Cup collapse

On the pitch, the scars run just as deep. Havertz, who dragged Germany level and carried much of the attacking burden, cut a devastated figure.

“I’m a little lost for words. This is my second World Cup and both times it came to nothing,” the Arsenal forward told FIFA’s website.

“All I can do is apologise. I thought we didn’t play bad football at the last few tournaments, but something was always missing. And it was the same today.

“We have to take a hard look at ourselves, especially the players, and I’m leaving the coach out of that.”

It was a rare public admission of responsibility from a senior player, and a pointed one. Havertz excluded Nagelsmann from his criticism. The implication was clear: the dressing room knows it has fallen short, again.

Gakpo’s goal, and grief, in Guadalupe

While Germany processed another early exit, a different kind of emotion unfolded in Guadalupe.

Cody Gakpo, playing for the Netherlands in their own round-of-32 tie against Morocco, scored a goal that carried far more weight than a simple opener. Days earlier, he and his partner Noa van der Bij had announced the death of their son Elijah during pregnancy.

“With broken hearts, we share the devastating news that our baby boy passed away during pregnancy,” Van der Bij wrote on Instagram. “Thank you for your love and support. Elijah Raphael Gakpo, forever loved, forever our son.”

Gakpo followed with his own message: “This is an incredibly difficult time for our family. We kindly ask for our privacy and space. Thank you for your understanding.”

Then came the game.

Slipped through by Crysencio Summerville, the Liverpool forward surged into the box, seized on the loose ball and drove a low finish into the net. As the ball hit the corner, the emotion hit him. Gakpo dropped into a crouch, overcome, and his team-mates rushed to surround him, forming a protective ring in a moment that transcended the match itself.

For a long stretch, that goal looked like it would carry the Dutch through. They defended it, nursed it, almost willed it over the line.

Issa Diop tore up that script one minute into stoppage time, levelling for Morocco and dragging the tie into penalties. The Dutch, like Germany, faltered from the spot. Morocco held their nerve, winning 3-2 in the shootout and turning Gakpo’s cathartic strike into a painful footnote in the record, if not in the memory.

Two nights, two shootouts, two European heavyweights sent home. One coach under siege, another refusing to be drawn into the storm.

Germany now waits on the DFB’s next move – and on whether this latest failure finally forces a deeper reset than a change of name on the office door.