Klopp Dismisses Germany Job Speculation After Paraguay Loss

Jurgen Klopp has lived enough brutal nights in football to recognise one when he sees it. Germany’s World Cup exit to Paraguay on penalties was one of those, but the former Liverpool manager wants no part in the fallout. Not yet.

As the inquest begins and the pressure tightens around Julian Nagelsmann, Klopp – now Red Bull's head of global soccer – made it clear he is not about to ride in as the saviour of the four-time world champions.

Asked live on MagentaTV what would have to happen for him to consider the national-team job, Klopp brushed it away.

"I haven’t thought about that yet," he said, in comments reported by Bild. He spoke like a man who has stood in Nagelsmann’s shoes. "I’ve often been in that situation myself as a coach, where a big dream has been shattered."

He knows how this works. A major tournament failure, a nation looking for answers, and his name inevitably dragged into the debate.

"I understand that when people talk about the national coach, my name is mentioned. But it’s not the right moment to talk about it, especially not with me.

"I have a job that I really enjoy. And as far as I know, it’s not a part-time job. The fact is, Germany was eliminated today, and this is not the moment for me to think about Jurgen Klopp’s future."

Germany’s latest World Cup collapse

Germany had arrived in the knockouts with a sense of fragile optimism. They topped Group E despite a 2-1 defeat to Ecuador in their final group game, and for long spells in Boston against Paraguay, they looked in control of their fate.

Then the familiar pattern returned.

Julio Enciso struck first for Paraguay, and anxiety rippled through a German side that has seen too many tournaments slip away in the last decade. Kai Havertz dragged them back, levelling the round-of-32 tie, and for a while the old authority seemed to return.

In extra time, Jonathan Tah thought he had completed the rescue act with a towering header, only for VAR to intervene and rule it out. The reprieve for Paraguay felt like a warning. Germany did not take it.

The shootout was chaos and cruelty rolled into one. Havertz, one of the few German players who consistently shoulders responsibility in big moments, missed. Nick Woltemade followed him in failing from the spot. Paraguay wobbled too – Antonio Sanabria and Fabian Balbuena both blew chances to win it – but Germany could not escape.

When Tah, already scarred by the disallowed goal, missed the target in sudden death, Jose Canale stepped up and buried Germany’s World Cup hopes with one clean strike. Their first ever penalty shootout defeat at a World Cup. Another scar on a once-impervious footballing giant.

Nagelsmann refuses to walk away

With the DFB under fire and a restless public demanding change, Nagelsmann faced the questions head on. Resignation? Not on his mind.

"I’m not one to run away," he told reporters in his post-match press conference. The tone was defiant, but also weary. This is not just about one bad night. "It’s not the first time, but it’s been happening for a while now that we’ve been delivering tournaments like this and yes, there are certainly a few basic things that I don’t want to go into now."

Germany’s problems run deeper than a missed penalty or a VAR call. Nagelsmann knows it, but he is not about to offer himself up as the sole culprit.

"I’m not one of those people who sits here and says, 'I’m resigning now, just because we’ve been eliminated’. If the DFB wants me to continue then I’ll continue and if they don’t want me to, then they can tell me that."

The ball now sits with the federation. Stick with the young coach tasked with modernising a broken giant, or rip it up and start again. The temptation to look towards Klopp will be strong. His refusal to entertain the idea, at least publicly, only underlines how raw this exit still is.

Havertz left searching for answers

On the pitch, the players wore the shock more visibly than anyone in the directors’ box. Havertz, who scored in normal time and then missed in the shootout, spoke with the flatness of a man who has seen this film before.

"I’m a little lost for words," he admitted, in quotes reported on FIFA’s website. "This is my second World Cup and both times it came to nothing.

"All I can do is apologise. I thought we didn’t play bad football at the last few tournaments, but something was always missing. And it was the same today.

"We have to take a hard look at ourselves, especially the players, and I’m leaving the coach out of that."

It was a striking line. Responsibility, he insisted, lies first with those on the pitch. The coach, for once in Germany’s fevered debate, was not his target.

Gakpo’s grief and Morocco’s late twist

While Germany’s drama unfolded in Boston, another story cut through the noise of pure sport and into something far more human.

In Guadalupe, Cody Gakpo scored for the Netherlands against Morocco and broke down in tears. The Liverpool forward had announced only days earlier, with his partner Noa van der Bij, that their baby son Elijah had died during pregnancy.

Van der Bij had written on Instagram: "With broken hearts, we share the devastating news that our baby boy passed away during pregnancy.

"Thank you for your love and support. Elijah Raphael Gakpo, forever loved, forever our son."

Gakpo followed with his own message: "This is an incredibly difficult time for our family. We kindly ask for our privacy and space. Thank you for your understanding."

Then came the match. Slipped in by Crysencio Summerville, Gakpo seized on the ball, drove forward and smashed a low finish into the net. As it hit the back of the goal, he sank to the turf, overwhelmed, before team-mates rushed to surround him. A celebration, a memorial, and a moment of collective support all at once.

For a long time, it looked like that goal would decide the tie. The Dutch managed the game, Morocco chased. Then, one minute into stoppage time, Issa Diop struck, turning the night on its head. The equaliser dragged the match to penalties, where Morocco held their nerve to win 3-2 in the shootout.

On a day when Germany’s World Cup story took another dark turn and Nagelsmann’s future moved under the spotlight, it was Gakpo’s raw, human reaction that lingered. Football will move on quickly, as it always does. The questions for Germany – and the pain for one Dutch forward – will not.