Jürgen Klopp becomes the new head coach of the German men’s senior national team. The 59-year-old signed a four-year contract today at the DFB Campus in Frankfurt am Main and will lead the national team to UEFA EURO 2028 and the FIFA World Cup 2030. Before this, the Supervisory Board and the Shareholders’ Meeting of DFB GmbH & Co. KG unanimously approved the proposal from DFB President Bernd Neuendorf and the first DFB Vice President Hans-Joachim Watzke.
On 15 August 2026, Jürgen Klopp will succeed Julian Nagelsmann, who resigned from his position as Germany’s national team coach on 3 July after Germany’s World Cup elimination against Paraguay.
Klopp will be joined at the German Football Association (DFB) by assistant coaches Peter Krawietz, Pepijn Lijnders, and Sven Bender. Krawietz and Lijnders are long-time companions of Klopp and won, among other achievements, the UEFA Champions League in 2019 and the English league title in 2020 with him at Liverpool FC. The 43-year-old Dutchman Lijnders was most recently under contract as assistant coach to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. The 54-year-old Krawietz, who also worked with Klopp during his spells at Mainz and Dortmund, is also joining the DFB from Red Bull. Sven Bender (37) returns after his roles as assistant coach in Dortmund and head coach at Unterhaching. The former seven-time German international had already worked as assistant coach of the German U16 and U17 national teams from 2022 to 2024.
“Our absolute preferred choice”
Jürgen Klopp said: “The national team can unite us Germans like hardly anything else. That is exactly what makes this task so special for me. I am grateful for everything I was able to experience and learn during my last one and a half years at Red Bull, and for the openness that made this agreement possible. Now I am looking forward to this special challenge in German football, which we will approach together with humility and patience: developing a team that fights for each other, enjoys football, and behind which the people of our country can stand with full conviction.”
DFB President Bernd Neuendorf said: “Jürgen Klopp stands like very few others for passion, credibility, and the ability to bring people together. After Julian Nagelsmann’s resignation, he was our absolute preferred choice for the position of national team coach. That is why we made every effort to bring him in. I would like to thank everyone who helped make this cooperation possible, especially Oliver Mintzlaff for the constructive discussions and his cooperative attitude, as well as Aki Watzke for his great support.”
Hans-Joachim Watzke, first DFB Vice President, said: “Jürgen is one of the best coaches in the world for me. He makes his players better. In addition, he is a person who inspires people, leads them, and brings them together. That is exactly what the national team needs.”
DFB sporting director Rudi Völler said: “Jürgen Klopp has proven over many years at the highest level that he can develop young players and make his teams perform under pressure. He is also a great motivator who will bring our fans and German football along with him. I am looking forward to working together.”
At the end of September and beginning of October, Jürgen Klopp and the national team will have their first four international matches during one international break.
After the opening match against the Netherlands on 24 September (from 20:45, live on RTL) in Amsterdam, Germany will face Greece three days later in Klopp’s first home international match in Augsburg (27 September, from 20:45, live on ARD).
This will be followed by the match against Serbia in Munich on 1 October (from 20:45, live on ZDF) and the game against Greece in Thessaloniki on 4 October (from 20:45, live on RTL).
