Klopp fields record squad to steer Nations League start

While fans speculated for months about possible leaks, Jürgen Klopp gave clear answers on Thursday: He will start his mission as national team coach with roughly two weeks of preparation at the end of September and early August and will lead the DFB‑team into the first four Nations‑League matches of the new season.

Record size of the squad

At the press conference, the 59‑year‑old coach presented an XXL squad of 44 players – a record for the German national team. Of those, 16 players have not yet played an A‑international match, including Finn Dahmen, Jonas Urbig, Noah Atubolu and other young talents.

Finn Dahmen is included in both squads, as are key players Nico Schlotterbeck, Jamal Musiala and Serge Gnabry, who, according to Klopp, should remain in the team for the entire match period.

Strategy and workload management

“It is very unusual for the national team to have to play four matches in two weeks,” Klopp explained. He emphasized that players who are still active with their clubs on Sunday travel for the national team already on Monday and that many things need to be coordinated.

“You practically already know everything, but we still have a surprise ready,” the coach joked, before adding: “We didn’t look at what we don’t have, but at what we have. The result is a very talented squad.”

The match dates are spread at the end of September with fixtures against the Netherlands and Greece, while at the beginning of October the duels against Serbia and the return match against Greece follow.

Regarding the three players Schlotterbeck, Musiala and Gnabry, Klopp said: “We want to keep all three in the squad every two weeks to give them rhythm and have them in regular team training.”

Klopp’s clear division into two squads for two matches each is intended to reduce the workload while simultaneously tapping a broad talent pool – a stark contrast to the previous speculation and leaks.