German legend blames squad wives and girlfriends for embarrassing World Cup failure

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FT Desk

German football legend Lothar Matthaus has slammed the country's performance at the 2026 World Cup and believes the presence of the players' wives and girlfriends had a negative impact on the squad.

Die Mannschaft progressed through their group with relative comfort, defeating Curacao 7-1 and Ivory Coast 2-1 before a surprising 2-1 defeat to Ecuador.

Their performance set up a winnable Round of 32 fixture against Paraguay this week.

Germany were left stunned after Julio Enciso gave Paraguay the lead shortly before half-time. Though Kai Havertz would equalise 10 minutes after the break, the South Americans held on for the 1-1 draw across 90 minutes and extra-time, ensuring a nerve-shredding penalty shootout.

In what will go down as a monumental World Cup failure, they were eliminated on penalties after Havertz, Nick Woltemade and Jonathan Tah missed their spotkicks, with the Bayern Munich defender ballooning the decisive one high over the crossbar.

Matthaus, the first outfield player to appear at five World Cup tournaments and a winner in 1990, reckons large family entourages acted as a distraction for the players in a similar fashion that he experienced in the 1994 World Cup in the United States.

"There were documentaries [made] about this topic in ’94 [and] I don’t think it was that different this time round," the legendary midfielder told BILD.

"There's a lot to process, both on and off the pitch. Wives, families, everyone was involved. Lots of headlines.

"I don't know why you have to involve all the families right from the start.

"Then it's about travel options, about hotel bookings. That was all a topic within the team. It never appeared in the media, but I know it was a topic of discussion.

"One player was angry with another because one player's mother was [only] allowed to fly alone, while another's wife and children were allowed to fly. The others had to take a commercial flight."

The Ballon d'Or winner thinks changes need to be made for future tournaments that would see wives, girlfriends and extended family only arrive the World Cup or the Euros in the latter stages.

"Ultimately, there was a lot of unrest, which didn't come across," he continued.

"But despite all that, the focus simply wasn't on this World Cup. It was always a free family day and another free family day.

"They weren't even in America for two weeks and already all their families were there again. They can fly in for the quarter-finals if the team has achieved something."

Earlier in the tournament, Matthäus questioned the impact of head coach Julian Nagelsmann’s girlfriend being present, suggesting it wasn't ideal.

According to BILD, Lena Wurzenberger, 34, had become a notable talking point due to her constant presence around the Germany camp. The former journalist was first seen at the team’s pre-tournament base in Frankfurt, where she was photographed watching training from a balcony alongside several players’ partners.

She has been in attendance at games and at training since and was also spotted cycling with Nagelsmann.

There is naturally always that feeling that when the boss's wife is in the room, you might not always be completely honest at the table when talking about the national coach,' reporters had speculated.

"She just shouldn't appear in the pictures too often - that wouldn't be ideal in my opinion," Matthaus previously confessed.

"The players have days off and their families can come to the hotel. Lena (Wurzenberger) did that too. From my perspective, I think it's perfectly normal.

"Lena was able to come to the hotel just like the players' girlfriends and wives. You can see the solidarity - but the rule shouldn't apply to the coach. It has to happen during the time when players are seeing their families."

There have been calls for Nagelsmann to resign following Germany's disastrous World Cup exit, but he insists he will not resign.