Clear words from world champion
“Julian Nagelsmann has to get this under control”
12/03/2025 – 11:57 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
The German national team has qualified for the World Cup. Nevertheless, a former star of the DFB selection is now making people sit up and take notice with critical words.
Philipp Lahm clearly criticized the German national team under the leadership of national coach Julian Nagelsmann. The 2014 world champion criticized the lack of personnel consistency in the team in an interview with “Sport Bild”.
“For me there were too many changes, partly due to injuries, but not only. Now you don’t know: who is the core, who fits together?” said the former captain of the German team. Lahm continued: “Julian Nagelsmann has to get this under control as quickly as possible. Recently there was just too much back and forth for me.”
The 42-year-old explained that the many changes did not give the established players the security they needed. “An example is Leroy Sané. He is left at home once and then suddenly he plays twice from the start. There is a danger in that,” emphasized Lahm. Players can be “burned,” he continued. “I think the most important thing now is not to rotate so much. A team has to be found.”
The former FC Bayern professional still believes in winning the World Cup title next year. However, this requires “continuity and automatism”. Then excellence can develop. The quality of football is “present in every generation,” Lahm made clear. “We have them now too.”
The draw for the World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico will take place on Friday in Washington, DC (live on the t-online ticker from 6 p.m.). Germany is in pot one, so will be one of the twelve group heads.