The German national team has been a rollercoaster since Julian Nagelsmann took over. Initial success was found despite early pessimistic view, and Germany arguably could have won the Euro 2024 tournament were it not for a missed handball call against Spain. Since then though, Nagelsmann hasn’t solidified as much confidence as the year 2025 has seen some straight up bad performances from his side.
The game against Luxembourg was another showcase of shakiness from Nagelsmann’s side and a missed chance to instill some confidence from the fanbase and critics. Especially in the first half, Germany performed quite poorly and Nagelsmann didn’t shy away from that either.
“Luxembourg caused us a lot of problems, especially in the first 30 minutes. It was more difficult than you sometimes hope for. We’re under pressure in the group. In the end, we have to win the games,” Nagelsmann told Bild.
Nagelsmann clearly made enough adjustments to get the result, and earned some praise from players such as David Raum in making the right adjustments, but should the team be at that point just 8 months away from the World Cup? It seems like Germany are miles away from contending next summer, with little opportunities left to solidify the squad.
Players like Jama Musiala, Kai Havertz, and plenty more starting quality players are absent but that doesn’t always excuse this level of performance. Players like Said El Mala and Lennart Karl but grow to become important players by next summer’s tournament but there is not significant time to integrate these players either.
It is an odd time for a generational change since Euro 2024, and perhaps the team might be better poised to contend in 2028, but for a country of such football quality, expectations will be high once again in North America.
