Five reasons why German fresh start under Klopp promises success

Germany is still digesting its latest early exit from the World Cup yet, and Jürgen Klopp is yet to be named new coach officially.

But his expected appointment is a signal of a fresh start, and there are further reasons to hope for a more successful future.

The Klopp factor

Klopp doesn't know failure. Even when he was bottom of the table after 19 matchdays in his final season with Borussia Dortmund, he still led the team into European competition in the end. He revitalized Liverpool and through his time at Anfield became a global brand himself. Klopp stands for emotion, likability and trophies. A national team is uncharted territory for the Swabian, but he has proven that he can sustainably improve very different teams.

The young core

Most of the national team players are not only highly talented but very young. Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala are 23, Aleksandar Pavlović 22 and Assan Ouédraogo 20. Bayern youngster Lennart Karl (18) was already considered a genuine hope for the World Cup but missed the tournament due to injury. There, new Bayern Munich signing Nathaniel Brown (23) particularly caught the eye.

The potential is there; it simply has to mature and ultimately be fully realized. That should first happen at the players' clubs and then under Klopp with the DFB.

Striker problem solved

The long-running debate over the number nine has essentially become obsolete. Germany once again has several options at center forward. Despite all the disappointment at this World Cup, Kai Havertz scored three goals, while Deniz Undav also scored three and provided two more assists. In addition, Nick Woltemade offers a much younger alternative. If the 24-year-old can reestablish himself at club level at Newcastle United and regain his form, he should also become an important factor for the national team.

Success at youth level

Despite criticism, Germany does not seem to have a youth development problem — at least not when looking at the recent past. The U17 team became both world and European champions in 2023, the U19 reached the European Championship semi-finals in 2025, and the U21 team reached the Euro final that same year. The foundation is there, now the talents need to develop accordingly and establish themselves in professional football. That is likely to be the biggest hurdle.

Of the U17 world champions, RB Leipzig's Ouédraogo has already made the leap to the senior national team, while Finn Jeltsch has established himself in Stuttgart. Noah Darvich is trying to make his breakthrough with newly promoted Bundesliga side Elversberg after a strong third-division season, while Max Moerstedt has recently stagnated at Hoffenheim after a promising start.

The DFB's finances

With more than eight million members, the German Football Federation (DFB) is the largest single sports national federation in the world. Its financial situation was strained for a long time as the DFB Campus in Frankfurt cost €180 million, there was little prize money due to a lack of sporting success at the World Cups from 2018 to 2026 a tax affair around the 2006 tournament resulted in more than €20 million in back payments.

However, the DFB managed to generate a surplus of €19 million in 2025, and now has €188 million in equity. From 2027, Nike will become the new kit supplier until 2034, for a reported €100 million per year which doubles the sum Adidas are said to pay. Financially, the DFB appears to have come through the worst of it and it aims to be debt-free by 2029.