Joachim Löw is loving Germany’s World Cup ambitions under Julian Nagelsmann

The Germans have kept up the positive energy from EURO 2024 so far. Can they keep it going through 2026?

German men’s football is back and they are playing with big swagger — and big ambitions. Former Bayern Munich coach Julian Nagelsmann is now in charge and has stated that he has his sights set on winning it all at the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup — and former national team coach Joachim Löw thinks that’s not a bad thing.

Löw, who did win it all in 2014, knows a little about what it takes. He gave his comments during Germany’s last international period in November.

“When a tournament is over, a new journey begins. It might be helpful to set new goals straight away,” Löw said (as captured by kicker). “Personally, I thought it was good to look ahead and say that’s our goal, especially since we saw that Germany was able to keep up with the top teams at the European Championships. Germany-Spain was probably the best game in the tournament.”

Germany’s quarterfinals exit to eventual champions Spain remains a bitter memory from EURO 2024. But there is no question that the team showed it had what it takes to play with the best — and that is momentum they may now use to carry them into 2026.