Nagelsmann and DFB-Elf under pressure
Now nothing can go wrong
06.10.2025 – 3:44 p.m.Reading time: 3 min.
Germany’s start to the World Cup qualification left many questions. The national coach must now find the right answers. He is still looking – for suitable staff and the right system.
One is clear before the two World Cup qualifiers of the German national team on Friday against Luxembourg and on Monday in Northern Ireland. For national coach Julian Nagelsmann and his players, there are significantly more to lose than to win.
Everyone expects two successes against the 96th and 72nd of the FIFA world rankings. However, this does not succeed, groupplace one and thus direct participation in the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada.
As is known, the unexpected 0-2 opening bankruptcy in Slovakia in September, which was the result of a stained and bloodless appearance, is to blame for the early pressure situation, which was more important than the result itself. The team was able to revise this impression with the 3-1 game against Northern Ireland in the following home game. Now it is a matter of showing the absolute will to victory and the emotionality regarded by Nagelsmann as a basic requirement and also convincing football.
Therefore, the announcement of the national coach is: “Two victories-that is our clear goal in order to continue to achieve the World Cup qualification directly.” In general, after analyzing the last appearances, the 38-year-old wants to go a little less on the offensive: no longer-bodied titles or self-confident specifications of dominance football. His premise: “We want to get more and speak less.”
After all, the location is tense. The national coach himself sees them as a “unstable situation”. The European Championship swing and the euphoria have been fizzled out with two defeats against France and Portugal since the disappointing Nation League finals in June. After the Slovakia game, the pendulum even ruled out in the direction of the attitude at the same time as it had prevailed almost exactly two years ago in the run-up to the home European Championship when in November that year against Turkey (2: 3) and Austria (0: 2) was shown in places and the fear of a European championship debacle was great.
This did not happen, but then to a relapse that must now be remedied again. The current situation is also unstable because Nagelsmann keeps upset in terms of personnel, has not yet found his team base or has not always been together. This time Jamal Musiala, Kai Havertz, Antonio Rüdiger and goalkeeper Marc-André Ter Stegen are missing. They should actually be pillars of the World Cup eleven next year.