Julian Nagelsmann has been appointed as Germany’s head coach until after next year’s Euro 2024 on home soil, replacing Hansi Flick, the German Football Association (DFB) said on Friday.
Germany parted ways with Flick this month, a day after their 4-1 home loss to Japan in a friendly. The four-time world champions struggling for form in recent years, failing to get out of their groups at the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, on the latter occasion under Flick.
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Nagelsmann has been out of work since his sacking by Bayern Munich in March. The 36-year-old, who previously managed RB Leipzig and Hoffenheim, won the 2021-22 Bundesliga with Bayern, where he also succeeded Flick. He is the youngest Germany coach since the 34-year-old Otto Nerz was appointed in 1926.
The DFB said Nagelsmann had been its “unanimous choice” to replace Flick, who was dismissed after four defeats in his last five matches. Nagelsmann said: “We have a European Championship in our own country and that’s something special – something that happens every few decades. I have a great desire to to take on this challenge. We will be a close-knit group next year.”
He told a press conference his aim was to get the whole country behind his team. “We want to excite them with great football,” he said. “We want to play football with a specific idea but we also demand attractive football, not just based on results.”
His first matches will be against two of the 2026 World Cup co-hosts, the United States and Mexico, next month. Germany are due to take on Austria in November.
“We are convinced that Julian Nagelsmann as national team coach will make sure that the team creates euphoria among the fans and will be successful at the Euros on a sporting level,” said the DFB president, Bernd Neuendorf, in a statement.