What is next for Germany?
On December 5, the draw for the World Cup group stage was made.
Forty two of the 48 teams (up from 32 in Qatar) have qualified for the World Cup, as of December 25. A total of 12 European nations have secured their spot, including Germany. Norway return for the first time since 1998, while Jordan, Uzbekistan and Cape Verde will all make their debuts.
Germany will face another debutant, Curacao, in its group opener on Houston before matches against Ivory Coast in Toronto and, finally, Ecuador in New Jersey, where the final will also be played.
When do they play their next games?
While several other European teams will battle it out in the playoffs in March, Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann will be making his final assessment on which players to include in his squad.
Two home friendlies have been confirmed so far, against Switzerland (March 27 in Basel), Ghana (March 30 in Stuttgart),and Finland (May 31 in Mainz). The final dress rehearsal for the World Cup is to be a match against one of the tournament hosts, the USA.
The tournament starts on June 11.
When will Germany’s World Cup squad be announced?
Early indications are that the squad will be announced in the last week of May, 2026. It is not yet clear whether squad sizes will stay at 26, as they were for Qatar, or if they will be raised to 30. FIFA are reportedly considering this, given the increased number of teams and games (up to 104 from 64) at this tournament.
After previous campaigns and stylish ways to announce the squad, there is also curiosity over how and where Germany will announce their 2026 World Cup roster.
Do Germany have a chance?
The indication from their qualifying campaign is that they have an outside chance. After two straight World Cups that ended in the group stage, there is also a great deal to make right for Germany as a football nation.
Julian Nagelsmann got the job done in qualifying, but there are still some concerns about quality in depth and in some positions. There are also a number of players, such as Jamal Musiala, Kai Havertz and Marc-André ter Stegen who are still recovering from injury and will need to get back playing and find form in the months ahead.
One thing is for sure, Germany’s optimism will have been boosted by the win in Leipzig. The hope for many fans is that the individual players can maintain their form into and during the early part of 2026, stay fit and then deliver as a collective for Germany on the big stage.
Thomas Klein contributed reporting to this article.It is part of DW Sports’ Best of 2025 series in which we revisit some of our outstanding features from the past year. The article has been updated to reflect the World Cup draw earlier in December.
Edited by: Chuck Penfold