While Thomas Müller, Ilkay Gündogan and Manuel Neuer (Toni Kroos was also invited but couldn’t be there) said goodbye after an official farewell, Angelo Stiller (23) and Aleksandar Pavlovic (20) started in midfield for Germany. The changing of the guard has been a long time coming, but a turning point has finally been reached in Munich. The World Cup is now more of a goal for the future than the past success of legendary figures.

With the 1-0 win against the Netherlands in Munich, Germany is in the quarter-finals of the Nations League for the first time. “Historic” seems like a big word for a tournament that isn’t taken seriously by many, but that’s Germany’s achievement. They have never been here before and that is because their head coach Julian Nagelsmann takes every step seriously. The experiments that marred his start are long gone and, a year to the day after his first game as coach for Germany – a comfortable 3-1 win against the USA – the way forward and the message are now very much there clear.

Germany forgets how to lose

This spirited performance deservedly ended with a win. Germany was in control throughout and ultimately took advantage of two aggressive pressing phases.

“The will to win (was what impressed me most),” Nagelsmann said afterwards.

The fact that it came from a somewhat ragtag squad and fresh from a tough win in Bosnia speaks to the quality of Julian Nagelsmann’s coaching work. The style of play works no matter who is playing.

Jamie Leweling looks exciting and made up for his early goal being confusingly disallowed by opening the scoring just after the hour mark.

“We are very proud of the performance, with a lot of new and young players, but we didn’t really notice that today. Jamie (Leweling) had an extraordinary debut today,” said captain Joshua Kimmich afterwards.

The hard-working Tim Kleindienst wasn’t rewarded for his efforts this week, but Stiller looked very capable in midfield. Oliver Baumann (34th) celebrated his long-awaited debut in goal and had to wait almost as long to make a save – his save in the 90th minute, with which he fended off Donyell Malen’s shot, proved to be crucial for the victory.

“You see players who want to play for the limelight – not for the sake of the spotlight, but simply because they think it’s great to play for Germany,” said Thomas Müller previously.

Nagelsmann now and forever?

In November, Germany will try to win the group and then find out who their opponents are in the quarterfinals. But the real excitement comes in December when they find out who is in their qualifying group for the 2026 World Cup.

Until then and probably in the following months, there will be a lot of discussion about Julian Nagelsmann’s future. The German Football Association (DFB) is so satisfied with its young head coach that it wants to extend his contract beyond 2026. Nagelsmann reacted tactfully: “I can imagine everything, but there is still a long way to go.”

The 37-year-old Nagelsmann has made no secret of his desire to win the Champions League. The job in Germany was supposed to pave his way back into club football, but now he’s getting Germany going. He has lost just three times in 17 games, two of them within his first two months as manager. He has won 10, including three of the last four. The next step is a title.

“Spain is the best example,” Nagelsmann said afterwards. “They won every game before the European Championships and you can now see how they celebrated victories with us. Things used to be different. The boys won a game and you didn’t get the feeling that they were happy. The atmosphere in the dressing room now is great and the boys are really happy.”

Germany is a more successful team today than it was a year ago and Nagelsmann wants to capture that feeling.

“Consistent results make you a winning team,” Nagelsmann said afterwards.