Failed At Euro 2024, Nagelsmann Optimistic With Germany's New Team In Nations League

German coach Julian Nagelsmann is aiming for the 2026 World Cup after failing at Euro 2024. (X/@DFB_Team)

JAKARTA - Germany appeared with a new face while navigating the UEFA Nations League. After failing at Euro 2024 coach Julian Nagelsmann is optimistic that the new Germany team will be able to compete in the Nations League which is the target between the 2026 World Cup.

There is no pessimistic tone and Germany hopes to build momentum for the World Cup in the next two years. Germany appeared on a new generation when they played their first League A Group 3 match against Hungary at the Merkur Spiel-Arena Stadium, Dusseldorf, Sunday, September 8, 2024 in the morning WIB.

Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has retired from the national team and his position has been replaced by Marc-Andre ter Stegen. This Barcelona goalkeeper has been eyeing the position for a long time. It's just that even though Ter Stegen showed brilliant performance in La Liga, Neuer remained the first choice until he finally retired.

Not only Neuer but also his club colleagues, Thomas Mueller, Ilkay Gundogan and Toni Kroos, who have hung up their boots for Die Mannschaft after their failure at Euro 2024. Germany, which has ambitions to win at home, finally has to admit Spain's advantage in the quarter-finals after losing 2-1.

Now, Germany is ready to play their first match against Hungary. Nagelsmann said the match against Dominik Szoboszlai et al was very important after the failure in the European Cup.

"The first game after the European Cup is clearly very important because we want to maintain momentum," said Nagelsmann, who stated that there was nothing new in training even though the senior players had left.

"We don't do new things in training. Moreover, we only have a short time to prepare. The important thing is that there is a consolidation like what we did during the tournament. We want to witness the high enthusiasm as before when competing at Euro 2024," he said.

According to Nagelsmann, the players are ready to replace the position left by Gundogan et al. "This team already knows each other, including new players. Pascal Gross will play. Only he doesn't need to be a Kroos. He will play as Pascal," said Nagelsmann.

"Fulle (Niclas Fullkrug) will also play. In a different formation, he takes the role of Ilkay. But he will not play like him," he said again.

Nagelsmann, further stated firmly after failing in the European Cup, he is aiming for the 2026 World Cup. The former Bayern coach made the Nations League a target between because he had ambitions to bring Germany to win the World Cup for the fifth time.

He only received criticism through the media because he was considered to have set a target too high, especially after DFB-Elf's failure at home. The observers, who are mostly former German footballers, find it difficult for Nagelsmann to achieve this target.

"Of course it's a good thing when setting a high target. But I don't even understand the statements from many observers in the media," said Nagelsmann.

"When a coach wanted to win the world, he got criticized. This is really crazy. Would I like to read the headlines if I said I didn't want to become world champion," he said.

Nagelsmann said Germany should learn from Spain which shows consistency so that they can win the title. They started by becoming champions in the Nations League and continued at Euro 2024. Finally, Fermin Torres et al won gold at the 2024 Olympics.