Germany legend Lothar Matthaus has offered Julian Nagelsmann, the current national team manager, some stark career advice regarding his future, particularly in the lead-up to the 2026 World Cup.
Matthaus, a World Cup winner himself, believes Nagelsmann's position should be intrinsically linked to the team's performance on the global stage. While Nagelsmann has a contract extending to 2028, Matthaus suggests that a World Cup victory would be the ideal moment for the young coach to consider stepping away from the national team.
The reasoning behind this suggestion is rooted in the immense achievement of winning a World Cup. Matthaus highlighted that securing this prestigious trophy would place Nagelsmann among the youngest World Cup-winning coaches in history, potentially leaving him with few greater accolades to pursue in international management.
Furthermore, Matthaus speculated that achieving such a monumental success might also spark a desire in Nagelsmann to return to the more frequent challenges and demands of club management, a different but equally demanding arena.
Conversely, Matthaus was clear and unambiguous about the repercussions of a less successful tournament. He stated that if the German team were to experience an early exit from the group stages, Nagelsmann's tenure would have to come to an immediate end.
In such a scenario, Matthaus sees no justifiable reason for Nagelsmann to remain in charge, implying that a failure to progress would represent a significant underperformance that would warrant a change in leadership.
Germany has been placed in Group E for the 2026 World Cup, alongside opponents such as Curacao, Ivory Coast, and Ecuador. The team carries significant expectations following their quarter-final exit from Euro 2024.
The pressure is on for Nagelsmann and his squad to navigate the initial stages of the tournament successfully and avoid a repeat of the disappointing group-stage exits experienced in the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
