Published on 6/26/2026
Germany national team coach Julian Nagelsmann harshly criticized FIFA after the new system adopted in the 2026 World Cup, considering that some of the top groups in the groups find themselves in an uncomfortable situation before the start of the elimination rounds.
Although the German team guaranteed qualification to the round of 32 after topping Group E following two wins over Curaçao and Ivory Coast, the German coach expressed his dissatisfaction with the lack of time available to prepare for the next confrontation.
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The problem, according to Nagelsmann, is that Germany will not officially know its opponent in the next round until Saturday evening, while it will play the round of 32 match on Monday in Boston, which gives the technical staff only less than 48 hours to prepare the appropriate plan.
The German coach said during the press conference that the new system makes things very complicated, adding that finishing the group stage in the lead should not turn into a factor that harms the team instead of benefiting it.
He explained: “Frankly, I am not a fan of this system. Being punished because you finished in first place in the group is not ideal. The calculations and algorithms have become very complex with the increase in the number of teams.”
Preparations in advance to avoid surprises
Nagelsmann revealed that his technical staff began studying potential competitors a few days ago in anticipation of time constraints, as the work was distributed among analysts and coaches to follow up on several teams nominated to face Germany in the next round. He added that the members of the technical staff watched a number of matches of potential competitors and prepared large parts of the tactical plans in advance, to avoid working under time pressure after officially knowing the identity of the opponent.
The German coach admitted that the hours before finding out the opponent will be exhausting, stressing that the technical staff may have to work all night to complete the preparations.
He pointed out that Paraguay and Australia appear to be the closest to facing Germany according to current calculations, but he stressed that all possibilities remain possible until the end of the group stage.
