German Legend Believes the National Team Can Achieve Greatness at the World Cup

Former Germany national team coach Jürgen Klinsmann is convinced the national squad can achieve great things at the World Cup, especially after their performance in the first two group stage matches. “Anything is possible. I’m truly optimistic that we’ll go far in the tournament,” he stated during a visit to the German House of Football in New York. Klinsmann added that he is “happy things have started so positively, that the atmosphere is really good, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”

Germany still has one more group stage match at the 2026 World Cup against Ecuador on Thursday, but they have already qualified for the knockout rounds as group winners. “Once you get past the group stage, a new tournament begins. Every match then becomes a final. The team will certainly need a bit of luck here and there and will probably have to face penalties at some point,” Jürgen Klinsmann remarked, while also emphasizing that there is still room for improvement. “This will be a long, long tournament,” continued the German specialist, who declined to take a stance on the debate over whether reserve player Deniz Undav should be in the starting lineup after scoring three goals in two matches.

However, Klinsmann declared himself “a fan of the number 9” and “a fan of Deniz. The way he came in and got the job done is incredible, it’s great.” He expressed dissatisfaction with the situation of defender Nico Schlotterbeck, who was ruled out of the World Cup due to injury: “That hurts. But we still have so much quality in this squad. It’s a shame, but the team will manage even without Schlotterbeck.” Jürgen Klinsmann further added that he believes Brazil is the favorite to win the title and is convinced that Carlo Ancelotti is “among the top three coaches in the world.”