Germany Starts 2026 World Cup in Style, But Questions Remain

Germany opened the 2026 World Cup with a dominant 7-1 win over Curaçao, but the article says Julian Nagelsmann’s team still has a long way to go if it wants to end a 12-year decline. The piece recalls that Germany last won the World Cup in 2014, when six Bayern Munich players started the final and Mario Götze came off the bench to score the winner.

Since then, Germany’s best major-tournament result was reaching the Euro 2016 semifinals, where it lost to host France. More recently, the national team has fallen short at two straight World Cups, going out in the group stage both times. That has weakened the old belief captured by Gary Lineker’s famous line that, in the end, Germany always wins.

The article says Nagelsmann, 38, is the main reason for optimism. He took over in September 2023 to build a younger, more attractive and successful side, much of it made up of players he has worked with before. His first major test was Euro 2024 in Germany, where the team reached the quarterfinals before losing to eventual champion Spain. Even with disappointment and complaints about officiating, the piece argues that the tournament showed the beginning of something new.

It also points to Germany’s two biggest stars, Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz. Both are described as exceptional attacking talents, but what they bring now is not only skill, it is hunger after difficult seasons. Musiala missed more than six months after a serious leg injury at the Club World Cup last summer, while Wirtz joined Liverpool for 137 million euros and struggled through a disappointing season. The article concludes that Germany may not win the World Cup, but under Nagelsmann it appears to be moving back toward being one of the favorites, and toward restoring the old image of a team that, in the end, wins.