News (engl.)

Germany’s round-of-32 opponent at the 2026 World Cup was decided during the course of last night, with Paraguay progressing to Monday’s knockout fixture (kick-off 22:30 CEST). Ahead of the clash in Boston, Germany sporting director Rudi Völler spoke about the team’s display at the tournament to date, as well as players Joshua Kimmich and Nathaniel Brown.

Rudi Völler on...

...his assessment of Germany’s performance so far: Before the tournament, we would have been delighted to qualify for the next round as group winners after only two games. We deserved to achieve exactly that and were obviously very pleased. At the same time, we know how to put winning the group into perspective. The team and everyone around it know there is still room for improvement. Now is when the World Cup really gets going. Our full focus is on Monday’s game against Paraguay. We believe that we will give it our best and push ourselves to the limit. We want to deliver a really strong showing and reach the next round.

...the team’s displays: Even when things got tricky, we showed tremendous passion and fighting spirit. In the second and third games, however, we gave the ball away unnecessarily in midfield when looking to go forward. Teams such as Ivory Coast and Ecuador are capable of punishing those mistakes. Not everything will always come off, but we cannot afford to make those errors in crucial areas. We have players whose strengths lie in creating chances, dribbling and taking risks, and we want them to do that, provided it is balanced with the necessary discipline.

...the Ecuador game: We went into the Ecuador game knowing we had already qualified. We wanted to maintain our momentum, so we made relatively few changes, which was the right decision. Like Ivory Coast, Ecuador were opponents we knew would pose a difficult challenge. We made several substitutions in the second half with the knockout stages in mind and rested a few players. That was also the right decision, regardless of the result. We would obviously have liked to win, but we can take the defeat in our stride and put it into context. We remain a team capable of beating anyone when we perform at our best.

...Nathaniel Brown: We are all hoping he will be ready by Monday. There are still two days to go, and I expect him to train today.

...Joshua Kimmich: We all know how fiercely driven Jo is. He is an outstanding captain in every respect and a real standard-bearer for the team. We are all extremely happy with both his performances and the way he conducts himself as the skipper. The debate about his position has been going on for a long time, but ultimately that decision rests with Julian and his coaching staff. Jo wants to play wherever he can best help the team. He is both a world-class right-back and midfielder. He may be a different type of full-back to Nene Brown, who has tremendous pace, but his experience means he knows exactly how to deal with different situations.

...Julian Nagelsmann: We have a close relationship and get on very well. Julian Nagelsmann is an outstanding coach. The most important thing is to stand up for your players. There are obviously coaches who do not do that, but I much prefer Julian’s approach.

...the players who have not featured much so far: Yesterday, I watched a training session involving the players who played little or no part against Ecuador. It was an exceptionally good session, full of intensity and commitment. The longer a tournament goes on, the more players you will naturally have who have featured little or not at all. They are all training with tremendous energy and enthusiasm, and that is hugely important. We said before the tournament that everyone would have to perform when called upon if we were to be successful. That is what team spirit is all about.