Germany Optimistic With 2026 World Cup On Horizon After A Much-improved Year

What a difference a year makes.

Twelve months ago, Germany was on a run of awful results and seemed on course to struggle when it hosted Euro 2024. Now it's back among top teams in Europe, with an eye on 2026 World Cup in United States, Cana and Mexico.

Germany will end 2024 with 10 victories from its 15 games. In 2023, it won just three and lost six.

only loss this year was in most important game, though, against eventual Euro 2024 champion Spain in extra time in quarterfinals on home soil. It still rankles.

Coach Julian Nagelsmann's instant reaction to a handball penalty that allowed Hungary to draw Tuesday's last Nations League group game 1-1 was to ask referee if he'd seen Germany's loss to Spain, when a handball call wasn't given against Spain's Marc Cucurella, riling German players and fans .

It’s been a big year for younger players like Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala, “Wusiala” combo expected to shine at 2026 World Cup. Wirtz scored six goals for Germany this year to be joint-top scorer with Arsenal's Kai Havertz and Musiala scored five.

“At ir young age, y're both world-class alrey,” Joachim Löw, who coached Germany’s World Cup-winning team in 2014, said Sunday on local brocaster SWR.

In 2021, Löw was first coach to call up Musiala and Wirtz , n 18 and 17 years old respectively, to national team, and he's impressed with how y've been crucial to Nagelsmann's project.

“y're obviously both incredibly creative, strong in one-on-ones, y're both goalscoring threats, and y've both me unbelievable progress in our national team over last one or two years,” Löw said. “You really can't imagine national team without m any more because y shape game.”

Several star names — Manuel Neuer, Toni Kroos, Ilkay Gündogan, Thomas Müller — retired from international duty following Euro 2024. It doesn’t seem to have put a dent in Germany’s form.

Still, some open questions remain about just how big — or sustainable — Germany's improvement is.

A Nations League group of Nerlands, Hungary and Bosnia-Herzegovina saw Germany rack up some big wins, even a 7-0 victory against Bosnia last week, but it wasn’t hardest schedule competition could have served up.

Marc-André ter Stegen is Germany’s top goalkeeper after Neuer left, but is a long way from returning from serious knee injury he sustained in September. Nagelsmann’s first-choice striker Niclas Füllkrug of West Ham hasn’t played since September with an Achilles tendon injury and will be 33 by time World Cup comes around.

Ahe of World Cup qualifying, Germany will have a tougher test in Nations League playoffs in March, and will find out its quarterfinal opponent in draw at UEFA hequarters on Friday. A yellow card Tuesday means Bayer Leverkusen's Wirtz will be suspended for first leg of quarterfinals.