“You don’t actually see anything”
Like Tuchel: Nagelsmann with clear criticism of FIFA
June 21, 2026 – 2:48 a.mReading time: 3 minutes
At England’s World Cup opener, Thomas Tuchel was annoyed by the position of the photographers. Now Julian Nagelsmann is following suit. The national coach chooses clear words.
Out of Toronto reports William Laing
Second game, second win: Die German national team has at the World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico, they also defeated Ivory Coast after the spectacular 7-1 opening win over Curaçao. They triumphed in Toronto DFB eleven on Saturday thanks to a brace from Deniz Undav with 2:1 – and thus advanced early to the knockout round of the tournament.
National coach Julian Nagelsmann was accordingly pleased after the game and spoke at the press conference of a deserved victory. At the same time, the 38-year-old also expressed his dissatisfaction with a scene that had already occurred before kick-off. Because: When the German national anthem was played, Nagelsmann and his staff had their view of the field and their own players blocked by numerous photographers. A problem that has already been addressed by England’s national coach Thomas Tuchel which FIFA had drawn attention to after the “Three Lions” tournament opener against Croatia a few days ago (4:2).
“I don’t know how much we can complain now, but I want to agree with Thomas Tuchel,” said Nagelsmann when asked by t-online about the situation. It was “an emotional moment when you create a connection with the players during the national anthem,” said the national coach. In the Bundesliga and in the Champions League There would also be photographers standing in front of the trainers, but: “What’s amazing here is that it’s super close.”
“There are better solutions out there”
As a result, Nagelsmann became even clearer in his choice of words: “I always have the feeling that the giant pipe is taking photos of the nose hairs from a centimeter away,” said the DFB coach. “You don’t actually see anything.” He and his coaching team should actually benefit from the adjustment that Tuchel pleaded with Fifa after England’s duel with Croatia.
At the game in Dallas last Wednesday, the photographers stood even closer to the dugout before kick-off. “I beg FIFA to change the position of the photographers during the national anthems,” Tuchel, who felt deprived of an emotional moment in his first World Cup game, said after the game. The world association subsequently reacted with a compromise. The photographers are now moving a little closer together, the coaches can position themselves along the sidelines on the left and right and therefore do not have the cameras directly in front of their noses.