Jurgen Klopp hammered by Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lothar Matthaus over Julian Nageslmann gaffe

Germany beat Curacao 7-1 in their World Cup opener, but the story was instead about Jurgen Klopp.

The former Liverpool manager is working as a pundit on German TV and alongside Thomas Muller things have been a little too light-hearted for many.

The pair have been critical of coach Julian Nagelsmann, particularly over his squad selection, and Klopp – who is regularly linked with the job – made a misstep.

While critiquing Nagelsmann, he said he was ‘still’ the coach, which many took as Klopp saying he’d either be fired soon, or replaced by himself.

Klopp later apologised in person, which Nagelsmann didn’t exactly accept, and has since been backed by two Germany greats.

Schweinsteiger and Matthaus turn on Klopp

“Jurgen Klopp doesn’t need to make such a remark,” Bastin Schweinsteiger said on ARD.

“All of Germany would be delighted if he were to become national coach, but to attack the current national coach like that in this situation is not good.

“Julian Nagelsmann’s reaction wasn’t exactly a big hug, they probably didn’t like it either.”

The nation’s most seasoned pundit, Lothar Matthaus, also gave Klopp some advice.

“I was surprised by the comments made by Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Muller two days before the Curacao match,” he wrote in his Sky column.

“Jurgen has been a coach long enough and might even return, while Thomas is still an active player.

“Neither of them would have liked outside interference. It wasn’t the right time, and they were the wrong words.

“Klopp apologized to Nagelsmann after Sunday’s game, saying, ‘Even at 59, I’m still an idiot’ that’s typical Jurgen, cracking jokes like that because he sees he’s made a mistake.

“He apologised, which was the least he could do. But something like that shouldn’t have happened in the first place; it was very thoughtless.

“There’s a lot of laughter and banter on MagentaTV , so we might have to brace ourselves for more quips from Jurgen and Thomas.

“Rudi Voller rightly pointed out that Klopp’s statement beforehand was inappropriate, but with Jurgen’s apology, the matter should now be settled.

“I know what it means to be an expert. You can criticise a player when they perform poorly, but we should consider how we can do our part to support the team so that we, as German football, stand together.”