Schweinsteiger and Kahn in Unison: Germany Has Lost Its Identity

Former German internationals Bastian Schweinsteiger and Oliver Kahn have stated that the focus following Germany's World Cup debacle should be on the players' quality and accountability, rather than on coach Julian Nagelsmann.

ARD commentator Schweinsteiger, who helped the national team win the title in 2014, said that something has gone wrong over the years regarding the players' fighting spirit, a quality for which German teams were previously renowned.

“We are giving up or neglecting our own strengths – perhaps some people don't want to hear this – our strengths, for which we were respected abroad,” said the 41-year-old Schweinsteiger.

“What we've lost is identity, the fight. Other teams possess it. All my former rivals tell me: 'You've lost your DNA and you can't even play football that well anymore. That's why you've been eliminated,'” he added.

Defeats to Ecuador and Paraguay in North America plunged Germany to a new low after group stage exits in 2018 and 2022.

Kahn, whose team lost to Brazil in the 2002 final, expressed similar sentiments. According to him, the debate about the coach misses the core of the problem.

“Three head coaches have failed at the same point: Joachim Löw, Hansi Flick, and Julian Nagelsmann. Three different playing philosophies. Three different leadership styles. The same result – in the group stage of the World Cups in 2018 and 2022, now in the round of 16 against Paraguay. If three coaches with different approaches consistently fail at the same point, the reason runs deeper,” Kahn wrote on social media.