Klinsmann praises Klopp’s XXL Germany squad: “Brave and refreshing”

Former Germany head coach Jürgen Klinsmann has praised Jürgen Klopp’s unconventional first squad as Germany boss.

Jürgen Klinsmann.

Photo: Alex Grimm / Getty Images.

Former Germany head coach Jürgen Klinsmann has welcomed Jürgen Klopp’s unconventional approach to his first squad as national team coach.

Klopp named a total of 44 players for Germany’s upcoming Nations League fixtures, dividing them into two groups. The first group will face the Netherlands and Greece before a second group takes over for matches against Serbia and Greece.

Speaking about Klopp’s first squad, Klinsmann described the approach as “brave” and said it had changed the way he looks at the national team.

The former Germany coach believes Klopp is deliberately using the first international break to get a broad impression of his options rather than immediately settling on a fixed group of players.

Klopp has included a number of potential debutants, while also recalling experienced players such as Marc-André ter Stegen and Serge Gnabry. Several young Bundesliga players have also received their first senior call-ups.

Klinsmann, who led Germany to a third-place finish at the 2006 World Cup, sees parallels between Klopp’s willingness to make changes and the approach taken by the national team two decades ago.

The current Germany coach has also emphasised that the two groups should not be viewed as an A and B team. Instead, the squad is intended to give Klopp as broad an overview as possible ahead of the next major tournament.

Klopp has four Nations League matches to assess his players, beginning with the away fixture against the Netherlands on September 24. Germany will then face Greece in Augsburg three days later before taking on Serbia in Munich and Greece again in Thessaloniki in October.

Klinsmann is also optimistic about Germany’s prospects under Klopp. He believes the new coach can build a team capable of competing for the European Championship title at EURO 2028.

Klopp was appointed Germany head coach in July on a contract running through the 2030 World Cup. His main objective is to lead the team into EURO 2028 and subsequently the 2030 World Cup.