"If they haven't got a good crop coming through, there's nothing he can do really." That's Gary Neville's verdict on Jurgen Klopp's impending Germany job — and it's hard to dismiss.
Klopp has agreed in principle with the DFB to take over from Julian Nagelsmann, who stepped down after Germany were knocked out of the World Cup in the round of 32 by Paraguay. A 1-1 draw, a 4-3 penalty defeat, and Nagelsmann was gone. Klopp, who has spent the past year as Red Bull's head of global soccer after leaving Liverpool in 2024, is expected to take charge within weeks.
The squad question Klopp can't ignore
Neville's argument is straightforward: international management lives and dies by the players available to you. At Liverpool, Klopp could sign anyone on the planet. With Germany, he works with what's there.
"Wirtz, Musiala, Havertz — I'm trying to think who else," Neville said on the Overlap. "You look at France, that four, the German four, they're a level below. England's forward players — Saka, Foden, Palmer, Kane, Rogers, Bellingham — our players are better."
That's a pointed comparison. Wirtz and Musiala are genuinely world-class, but the depth behind them is thin. Germany's odds of winning a major tournament in the next cycle rest heavily on whether that second tier develops quickly — and that's not something Klopp can manufacture.
The Ancelotti parallel is worth sitting with
Neville pointed to Carlo Ancelotti's Brazil as a cautionary tale. One of the greatest club managers in history, handed a squad loaded with individual talent, and it still went wrong — knocked out in the round of 16 by Norway, losing 2-1 to Haaland's side.
It's a useful reminder that elite club pedigree doesn't automatically translate to international success. The variables are different. The preparation time is different. The player pool is fixed.
Klopp's appointment will generate enormous excitement — his personality alone makes Germany appointment a compelling story. But Neville's read on the underlying squad depth is the more uncomfortable question, and it doesn't have a quick answer.
