2026 World Cup: Jürgen Klopp sparks controversy after comments about Nagelsmann

Several former German internationals have criticized comments made by Jürgen Klopp, a television pundit during the World Cup, after an unsportsmanlike remark about the German national team coach Julian Nagelsmann.

The former Liverpool manager, who notably works alongside former Bayern and national team striker Thomas Müller, declared on Sunday before Germany's match against Curaçao that he would not have chosen the same starting eleven as Nagelsmann.

"Fortunately, Julian Nagelsmann is still in the team... for the moment," the 59-year-old coach said on air.

These comments were poorly received, especially since Jürgen Klopp, who left Liverpool in 2024, is regularly mentioned as a potential candidate to take over the reins of the German national team.

"His comments will not make Nagelsmann's job any easier. I would like to know what he would have said if, before an important Champions League match, a commentator had advised him to leave one of his key players on the bench" when he was at Liverpool, lamented former Mannschaft captain Lothar Mathaeus, record holder for the number of caps with Germany (150).

Klopp's comments are "unacceptable," also stated Stefan Effenberg, who has 35 caps. "You can make that kind of remark over a beer, at the bar, but certainly not in front of millions of television viewers," he added.

Germany ultimately won their opening World Cup match by a large margin, beating Curaçao 7-1.

Jürgen Klopp later apologized: "I could have slapped myself for saying that," he said. "It just came out like that, there's absolutely no meaning to it."

Julian Nagelsmann didn't seem to mind: Germany "has plenty of experts, Thomas and Jürgen are good guys." "They've had a lot of success in football, they can talk about whatever they want, that's how it is," he said.