Jürgen Klopp reacted with dismay to the devastating World Cup exit of national coach Julian Nagelsmann and the German national team.
«There are 500,000 ways to win a football match. You just have to find one,» said the MagentaTV expert after the 3-4 penalty shootout loss to Paraguay in the round of 16 in Foxborough. «There was only one goal, one dream, and it burst. It was dramatic. We didn’t function.»
Klopp criticized that the DFB team «created too little»: «You have to come through the wings. There is no alternative. We all know how well the guys can play, but they didn’t bring it onto the pitch.» In three months, said the football chief of the Red Bull empire, «we will rave about Wirtz and Musiala again, how great they are. But just not now.»
Klopp becomes clear after Germany’s World Cup exit: «We let them off the hook»
The head also certainly played a role. «Paraguay had the opportunity to achieve something,» emphasized Klopp. «Germany had the pressure to achieve something.» There was too little tempo acceleration and consistency. «Everyone in the stadium thought: Now they’ll turn it around! But we didn’t. We let them off the hook.»
The headed goal by Jonathan Tah, disallowed for goalkeeper obstruction in extra time, remained a mystery to Klopp: «If this goal is irregular, Arsenal will not become English champions. We win the game if the ball is in.»
Fresh wind is also needed structurally, Klopp emphasized. «We can talk about the DFB. We absolutely have to change a few things. We can start at the U10 and wait a few years to see what comes out at the top.»