Germany kicked off 2026 in good spirits, picking up two wins from two in feisty friendly matches against Switzerland and Ghana. In the opening game against their European neighbours on Friday, Julian Nagelmann’s side claimed their first victory over the Swiss since 2008 and then went on to beat a Ghanaian side that, admittedly, aren’t the force of yesteryear but are undoubtedly still packed with impressive players. Two potential stumbling blocks cleared with relative ease.
And that should come as no great surprise. Ever since he took over the reins of the national team, Nagelsmann has done a good job of providing stability and progress in roughly equal measure. The former Hoffenheim and Bayern Munich head coach has tasted defeat just six times in 31 games with Germany, and of those games in question, perhaps only one – the 2-0 defeat to Slovakia last year – stands out as a genuine shock. “Die Mannschaft” are somewhat predictable these days. For better and for worse.
Both of these games exemplified that perfectly. In the first match, Nagelsmann offered up a grand total of zero surprises with his starting lineup, unless we want to be generous and suggest that Angelo Stiller in midfield is still something of a novelty. The German head coach got a little experimental against Ghana, with Nathaniel Brown coming in for David Raum at left-back and Alexander Nübel replacing Oliver Baumann, but it was accompanied by senior statesmen Pascal Groß and Serge Gnabry also stepping into the starting XI. Leon Goretzka, who is set to leave Bayern at the end of the season due to being surplus to requirements, played 120 minutes across both games.
Six of the starting XI against Switzerland were 30 or older, with the entire XI having an average age of 29.9. In stark contrast, the French team that beat Brazil 2-1 one day prior had an average age of just 27.1 and had just one outfield player over the age of 29 (Adrien Rabiot, 30). Nagelsmann’s reliance on older players is nothing new. Since becoming Germany head coach, just four of his 11 most-used players are under the age of 30. And while one or two – most notably Groß and Robert Andrich – may no longer be key players, the next two players to step up in place of them in terms of most appearances under the German boss are 29-year-old Maximilian Mittelstädt and the aforementioned 31-year-old Goretzka. While some may have hoped Nagelsmann would have taken a fresh approach to Germany with new and youthful faces after replacing Hansi Flick, his team are instead a diminishing echo of previous campaigns and tournaments.