Klopp set to take over Germany after World Cup disappointment

Klopp is coming home

Jürgen Klopp is set to become the next Germany manager. The Dutch FA had him on their shortlist, but Klopp is heading to the DFB instead (2). After a 2026 World Cup that ended before the quarter-finals, the timing is right. Klopp arrives with the brief no one needs to spell out: restore Germany to where it belongs.

Merino haunts Germany again

Mikel Merino scored a last-gasp winner for Spain against Portugal on Monday, sending Cristiano Ronaldo out of the World Cup (3). Two years ago, it was his header that knocked Germany out of the Euros and ended Toni Kroos's international career (1). The Spanish press are calling him the executioner of legends (4). For Germany fans, the wound is still fresh.

Hellmann calls for loyalty at Frankfurt

Eintracht Frankfurt CEO Axel Hellmann has delivered a blunt message ahead of the new season. "Lack of loyalty is poison for shared success," he said (3). The timing, with Germany's club football landscape under scrutiny after another disappointing international cycle, does not feel accidental.

Brazil's decline and that semifinal

Brazil are out of the 2026 World Cup at the quarter-final stage. The French press is diagnosing a twenty-year collapse, and the 7–1 semifinal against Germany still hangs over every conversation about Brazil's decline (6). For Germany, a reminder that even the greatest humiliations are never truly forgotten.

Fan reactions

The mood on r/soccer is shell-shocked. A CNN statistic is making the rounds: for the first time in World Cup history, the quarter-finals will feature neither Germany, Italy, nor Brazil. German fans are grappling with what that says about the national team's direction, and the Klopp news is landing as exactly the jolt the DFB needed.