Following Germany’s graceless World Cup elimination at the hands of Paraguay in the Round of 32, the DFB has made a swift change to its immediate schedule, perhaps to save face.
A report captured by @iMiaSanMia indicates that a planned final press conference with head coach Julian Nagelsmann, originally set to take place at the team’s tournament headquarters, has been entirely canceled.
Instead of addressing the media publicly, the squad is scheduled to fly directly home on Tuesday, right before the players
and staff immediately head out on vacation. Rather than conducting a live question-and-answer session regarding the tournament debacle, the federation will instead issue an official written statement to address the team’s exit at a later time.
The decision by the DFB to scrap the press conference just goes to show the immense tension and damage control taking place behind the scenes. By avoiding a live media appearance, the federation is temporarily shielding a heavily criticized squad and, even more so, Nagelsmann from expected intense public scrutiny. With external pressure building and talk surrounding potential changes to the national team dugout growing louder, the upcoming written statement will be heavily parsed to see where the federation truly stands regarding the future of the project.
Do you think canceling the press conference was a smart move to let things cool down, or should the leadership have faced the media directly? Let us know in the comments!
Join the conversation!
Sign up for a user account and get:
- New, improved notifications system!
- Fewer ads
- Create community posts
- Comment on articles, community posts
- Rec comments, community posts
