While the prospect of ultimate success brings one exit strategy, Matthaus was equally blunt about the consequences of failure. Germany find themselves in Group E alongside Curacao, Ivory Coast, and Ecuador, and the expectations are high following their quarter-final exit to Spain at Euro 2024.
Matthaus warned that another early catastrophe would leave the manager’s position untenable. “If he were to be eliminated in the preliminary round, however, he would have to quit. Then there are no arguments to continue. But I don’t even want to think about this scenario,” he remarked, acknowledging the pressure on the DFB to avoid a repeat of the 2018 and 2022 disasters under Joachim Low and Hansi Flick.
