Klinsmann: Germany Is No Longer Harsh

Former Germany national team coach Jürgen Klinsman has argued that his country’s side lacked sufficient ruthlessness during their participation in the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, which resulted in an early exit for the third consecutive tournament.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Klinsman said, “They were far too soft. They lacked the ability to endure hardship, and they were not ruthless enough to command respect from their opponents.”

Klinsman, who won the World Cup as a player in 1990 and guided Germany to third place as coach in 2006, added that the German national team could learn from Argentina.

He said, “What the Argentines showed the entire world in this tournament was quite simple. Perhaps we are not the best team, but we are prepared to go to the limit and beyond, and to decide matches in the final minutes.”

He continued, noting that the German national team possessed these qualities in the past, but no longer does, having been eliminated in the group stage in 2018 and 2022, and this time exiting in the Round of 32 against Paraguay.

Klinsman concluded, “Currently, we are an extremely ordinary team, completely lost. We should feel ashamed of ourselves and admit that many things have been mismanaged.”