National team: Nagelsmann without fear for job – change to Northern Ireland

After the false start to the World Cup qualification, Julian Nagelsmann has no worry about his future as a national coach in the event of a further disappointment against Northern Ireland. “Being concerned is never a good approach. I’m still brave enough, I want to win. The team is important, not me. We want to do a better job than on Thursday,” said the 38-year-old at the press conference on Sunday (8:45 p.m.) in Cologne.

After the 0: 2 in Slovakia, Nagelsmann announced changes in the starting eleven. “A little will happen,” he said. Despite the disappointment about the weak appearance in Bratislava, he would “not exchange ten players,” said the national coach. He had a lot of conversations, Nagelsmann reported about the time after the defeat.

Starting eleven guarantee only for Baumann

Only goalkeeper Oliver Baumann received a publicly pronounced guarantee. In the last training session, he wanted to look at the candidates again. He didn’t want to “reveal too much,” said Nagelsmann.

He made no decision about a renewed use of Namdi Collins, who had shown poor performance in his debut from the right full -back. “Many things that didn’t go so well had nothing to do with the national team or pressure,” said Nagelsmann to the 21 -year -old Frankfurter.

It also remained open whether captain Joshua Kimmich remains in defensive midfield or withdrawn into the defense chain.

The DFB-Elf is under pressure before the second game in Group A. Opponent Northern Ireland started with a 3-1 in Luxembourg. Only the first table qualifies directly for the 2026 World Cup. Nagelsmann misses the top position, in March there are two KO games in the playoffs for a World Cup ticket.