Germany fans in need of hope as prospect of Klopp looms

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Klopp has been working as a pundit for German TV at the World Cup By Constantin Eckner BBC Sport German football expert Published 11 minutes ago For Germany fans the unthinkable has happened. Not only another early exit at a major tournament but a first World Cup penalty shootout loss. As the dust settles the question every fan is asking is will the German Football Association take the plunge and sack head coach Julian Nagelsmann and bring in Jurgen Klopp. Nagelsmann, the 38-year-old former Bayern Munich boss, refused to quit following Germany's painful last-32 defeat by Paraguay, saying "I'm not someone who runs away". But the German fans are in need of hope and Nagelsmann simply cannot provide that at this moment. He hasn't done himself any favours with the way he communicates in public – easily irritable and brash. Meanwhile charismatic Klopp, the former Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund boss, has been a star pundit on German TV during the World Cup, being his usual funny and charming self. Fans know that you cannot simply replace 20 players, but you can replace the manager. Germany in danger of falling further behind When Germany fans woke up on Tuesday morning, they surely felt embarrassed about what happened in Boston against Paraguay. Since their most recent World Cup success in 2014, Germany have twice failed to make it out of the group stage - in 2018 and 2022 - and lost in the first knockout match of the 2026 finals. Domestically German football is booming. Bundesliga stadiums are packed; even third-division games attract tens of thousands of spectators each weekend. But a great football nation is in danger of falling behind on the international stage. Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala and Bayern Munich's latest rising star Lennart Karl are among a new crop of players that can excite fans, but the depth of extraordinary talent does not exist in Germany at this point in time. Following a quarter-final exit at the 1998 World Cup and an embarrassing group stage exit at Euro 2000, the German football association made fundamental changes to the nationwide development of youth players and the education of football coaches. Whether the German FA is capable of making substantial changes once again remains to be seen. Structural changes will need time but a managerial change could happen almost immediately. In the aftermath of Monday's loss, Nagelsmann rejected the notion that he should resign. Germany captain Joshua Kimmich said he hoped that Nagelsmann remains in charge, arguing that the team have been responsible for the embarrassing outcome of this World Cup campaign. "The fact of the matter is that we couldn't give the people at home [what we wanted]," said Bayern Munich's Kimmich. "That is a shame, especially in a time when it would have been good for Germany if we had something we could be proud of. The national team is not that." It is commendable that Kimmich and others want to take the blame for the