Germany’s Jürgen Klopp era officially begins this week as they prepare for Nations League matches against the Netherlands, Greece and Serbia.
Klopp has previously restored Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool to great heights, and doing likewise with Die Mannschaft would be on a par with those achievements.
The 2026 World Cup was the first time the Germans avoided going out at the group stage since winning the trophy in 2014. But they still flopped at that tournament, losing in the round of 32 against Paraguay on penalties, and they have only won one knockout game at the Euros since 2016.
Describing himself as “the new one,” Klopp has promised a different approach as he bids to reverse the team’s fortunes, naming 16 uncapped players in his 44-man squad.
Zinedine Zidane – France
Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
It will feel unusual for anyone other than Didier Deschamps to be managing France, given that the former World Cup-winning captain spent 14 years at the helm.
How successful Deschamps was during that period is debatable – he presided over a World Cup triumph in 2018, while Les Bleus twice finished runners-up at major tournaments (Euro 2016 and the 2022 World Cup).
Yet France were often considered among the favourites to win tournaments during that period given the array of talented players at their disposal, with the 2026 World Cup the latest example of a highly fancied side that could not get over the line, deservedly losing 2-0 to Spain in the semi-finals.
Zidane has shown in the past that he can turn a coterie of gifted individuals into a strong collective. He survived and at times thrived in the notoriously fractious Real Madrid environment, winning two La Liga titles and three Champions League trophies, becoming one of three managers to achieve the latter, along with Bob Paisley and Carlo Ancelotti. He had two spells there and most recently left that job after a trophyless 2020-21 season.
So while a France squad that includes several new faces prepares for matches against Turkey, Belgium and Italy, one of the country’s all-time great players will be hoping to establish a similar legacy as a manager and show that he is capable of building on his success at Madrid.
Roberto Mancini – Italy
Advertisement
Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Linked with some big names, notably Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti, Italy eventually opted for a familiar face in Roberto Mancini to succeed Gennaro Gattuso.
The former Man City boss previously managed the Azzurri between 2018 and 2023, with his most notable achievement guiding them to a Euro 2020 triumph before controversially exiting to take charge of the Saudi Arabia national team, prompting leading publication Corriere dello Sport to accuse him of “betrayal”.
Remarkably, the four-time winners of the tournament proper have failed to qualify for the last three World Cups, with Mancini presiding over one of those debacles.
But since then, both Gattuso and Luciano Spalletti have struggled to get the best out of Italy’s underperforming stars.
Nine new faces feature in Mancini’s 34-man squad as they get ready to face Belgium, Turkey (twice), and Zidane’s France in their first competitive matches since a humiliating World Cup playoff defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Xavi – Netherlands
Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Another nation desperate to return to former glories.
The Dutch had a poor 2026 World Cup, losing to Morocco on penalties in the round of 32.
Three-time World Cup runners-up, they last reached the final in 2010, losing to Spain after extra time.
But it has been a case of diminishing returns since then, with a third-place finish in 2014 followed up by a failure to qualify in 2018 and a quarter-finals exit to eventual winners Argentina in 2022.
The first foreign boss of the Oranje in 48 years, ex-Barcelona and Al Sadd coach Xavi has promised to play attacking football, which his predecessor Ronald Koeman was often accused of neglecting.
Memphis Depay, who has 55 goals from 112 caps, was the big-name omission from the new manager’s first squad, as the Netherlands gear up for games against Germany, Serbia and Greece.
Mark Van Bommel – Belgium
Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Did better than many critics expected at the 2026 World Cup, reaching the quarter-finals before being narrowly beaten by Spain.
Nevertheless, there is no doubt Belgium are in a transitional phase.
Much of the golden generation that reached their peak with a third-place finish at the 2018 World Cup has either retired, or they are well into their 30s.
Ageing star names like Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku are no longer automatic choices – both were left out of the starting XI by previous coach Rudi Garcia for their World Cup round-of-16 game against the US, with younger players like Charles de Ketelaere and Jérémy Doku impressing. Meanwhile, 34-year-old star goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has put his international career on hold.
Consequently, Van Bommel has his work cut out for him, as he tries to inspire a conceivably less talented group than the previous generation.
The coach also has plenty to prove after brief, forgettable spells with PSV and Wolfsburg. He enjoyed better fortune amid two years at Antwerp, guiding them to a domestic treble in 2023, including their first league title in 66 years.
The 49-year-old will hope he can similarly punch above his weight for a Belgium team that have looked to be on a downward trajectory in recent years, starting with games against Italy, France and Turkey.
Jorge Jesus – Portugal
Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
As with predecessors Roberto Martinez and Fernando Santos, exactly how Jorge Jesus handles Cristiano Ronaldo is set to dominate the narrative.
While Martinez invariably treated the 41-year-old deferentially, mostly refusing to drop him from the team, Santos controversially left him out of the starting XI for 2022 World Cup knockout games against Switzerland and Morocco, and he didn’t last long in the job thereafter.
Ronaldo did score five goals in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, but has struggled to have a similar impact at recent major tournaments.
Nonetheless, the veteran, who has said it will “probably” be his final season in football, has been included in the squad for upcoming games against Wales, Norway and Denmark.
The 72-year-old, who previously coached the five-time Ballon d’Or winner at Al-Nassr, has also recalled Fabio Silva and Joao Palhinha to the squad, as Portugal bid to win the Nations League for the third time in five attempts.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
6 high-profile managers set to begin life on the international stage
Jürgen Klopp – Germany
Germany’s Jürgen Klopp era officially begins this week as they prepare for Nations League matches against the Netherlands, Greece and Serbia.
Klopp has previously restored Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool to great heights, and doing likewise with Die Mannschaft would be on a par with those achievements.
The 2026 World Cup was the first time the Germans avoided going out at the group stage since winning the trophy in 2014. But they still flopped at that tournament, losing in the round of 32 against Paraguay on penalties, and they have only won one knockout game at the Euros since 2016.
Describing himself as “the new one,” Klopp has promised a different approach as he bids to reverse the team’s fortunes, naming 16 uncapped players in his 44-man squad.
Zinedine Zidane – France
It will feel unusual for anyone other than Didier Deschamps to be managing France, given that the former World Cup-winning captain spent 14 years at the helm.
How successful Deschamps was during that period is debatable – he presided over a World Cup triumph in 2018, while Les Bleus twice finished runners-up at major tournaments (Euro 2016 and the 2022 World Cup).
Yet France were often considered among the favourites to win tournaments during that period given the array of talented players at their disposal, with the 2026 World Cup the latest example of a highly fancied side that could not get over the line, deservedly losing 2-0 to Spain in the semi-finals.
Zidane has shown in the past that he can turn a coterie of gifted individuals into a strong collective. He survived and at times thrived in the notoriously fractious Real Madrid environment, winning two La Liga titles and three Champions League trophies, becoming one of three managers to achieve the latter, along with Bob Paisley and Carlo Ancelotti. He had two spells there and most recently left that job after a trophyless 2020-21 season.
So while a France squad that includes several new faces prepares for matches against Turkey, Belgium and Italy, one of the country’s all-time great players will be hoping to establish a similar legacy as a manager and show that he is capable of building on his success at Madrid.
Roberto Mancini – Italy
Linked with some big names, notably Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti, Italy eventually opted for a familiar face in Roberto Mancini to succeed Gennaro Gattuso.
The former Man City boss previously managed the Azzurri between 2018 and 2023, with his most notable achievement guiding them to a Euro 2020 triumph before controversially exiting to take charge of the Saudi Arabia national team, prompting leading publication Corriere dello Sport to accuse him of “betrayal”.
Remarkably, the four-time winners of the tournament proper have failed to qualify for the last three World Cups, with Mancini presiding over one of those debacles.
But since then, both Gattuso and Luciano Spalletti have struggled to get the best out of Italy’s underperforming stars.
Nine new faces feature in Mancini’s 34-man squad as they get ready to face Belgium, Turkey (twice), and Zidane’s France in their first competitive matches since a humiliating World Cup playoff defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Xavi – Netherlands
Another nation desperate to return to former glories.
The Dutch had a poor 2026 World Cup, losing to Morocco on penalties in the round of 32.
Three-time World Cup runners-up, they last reached the final in 2010, losing to Spain after extra time.
But it has been a case of diminishing returns since then, with a third-place finish in 2014 followed up by a failure to qualify in 2018 and a quarter-finals exit to eventual winners Argentina in 2022.
The first foreign boss of the Oranje in 48 years, ex-Barcelona and Al Sadd coach Xavi has promised to play attacking football, which his predecessor Ronald Koeman was often accused of neglecting.
Memphis Depay, who has 55 goals from 112 caps, was the big-name omission from the new manager’s first squad, as the Netherlands gear up for games against Germany, Serbia and Greece.
Mark Van Bommel – Belgium
Did better than many critics expected at the 2026 World Cup, reaching the quarter-finals before being narrowly beaten by Spain.
Nevertheless, there is no doubt Belgium are in a transitional phase.
Much of the golden generation that reached their peak with a third-place finish at the 2018 World Cup has either retired, or they are well into their 30s.
Ageing star names like Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku are no longer automatic choices – both were left out of the starting XI by previous coach Rudi Garcia for their World Cup round-of-16 game against the US, with younger players like Charles de Ketelaere and Jérémy Doku impressing. Meanwhile, 34-year-old star goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has put his international career on hold.
Consequently, Van Bommel has his work cut out for him, as he tries to inspire a conceivably less talented group than the previous generation.
The coach also has plenty to prove after brief, forgettable spells with PSV and Wolfsburg. He enjoyed better fortune amid two years at Antwerp, guiding them to a domestic treble in 2023, including their first league title in 66 years.
The 49-year-old will hope he can similarly punch above his weight for a Belgium team that have looked to be on a downward trajectory in recent years, starting with games against Italy, France and Turkey.
Jorge Jesus – Portugal
As with predecessors Roberto Martinez and Fernando Santos, exactly how Jorge Jesus handles Cristiano Ronaldo is set to dominate the narrative.
While Martinez invariably treated the 41-year-old deferentially, mostly refusing to drop him from the team, Santos controversially left him out of the starting XI for 2022 World Cup knockout games against Switzerland and Morocco, and he didn’t last long in the job thereafter.
Ronaldo did score five goals in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, but has struggled to have a similar impact at recent major tournaments.
Nonetheless, the veteran, who has said it will “probably” be his final season in football, has been included in the squad for upcoming games against Wales, Norway and Denmark.
The 72-year-old, who previously coached the five-time Ballon d’Or winner at Al-Nassr, has also recalled Fabio Silva and Joao Palhinha to the squad, as Portugal bid to win the Nations League for the third time in five attempts.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Jorge Jesus Jurgen Klopp Mark van Bommel Pastures new Roberto Mancini Soccer Xavi