'An exciting future' but new-era Germany 'need patience'

Euro 2024 was not just a historic tournament because Europe’s nations played for the prestigious Henri Delaunay Trophy for the first time in a unified Germany, but it also marked the end of an era for the national team.

Four stalwarts - Ilkay Gundogan, Thomas Muller, Manuel Neuer and Toni Kroos - have now retired from international football, meaning Germany will look very different when they face Hungary in Saturday's Nations League opener (19:45 BST).

The quartet have made a combined 451 appearances over the past decade - an era including Die Mannschaft's World Cup win in 2014.

But success has been sparse in recent times, with Germany failing to progress past the group stages twice in the last four major tournaments and losing to Spain in the Euro 2024 quarter-finals.

After a miserable few years, Julian Nagelsmann's side showed glimpses of recovery in the summer but, with the old guard hanging up their boots, can his new-look team return to the top of the world game?

Kroos and Gundogan served as key figures in Nagelsmann’s midfield at the Euros, while Neuer kept his spot as starting goalkeeper.

Although Kroos was 34 when the tournament started, he was Germany’s midfield anchor and playmaker. The retirement of the six-time Champions League winner will create a hole that might be hard to fill.

All four players were major leaders within the team, regardless of potentially slowing with age.

It speaks for itself that Manchester City jumped at the opportunity to bring Gundogan back after his sudden departure from Barcelona last month.

With Kroos, Muller and Neuer, the last members of the 2014 World Cup-winning squad have exited the international stage, and Nagelsmann is tasked with not only building a new core on the field but also inside his dressing room.

While Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz are the next generation of outstanding attacking talents, they are by no means at a point where they will be fierce leaders any time soon.

Right now, these two, just like Kai Havertz or Maximilian Beier, impress first and foremost through their footballing abilities.

Joshua Kimmich has been chosen as the new captain, succeeding Gundogan and Neuer.

While Kimmich has the makings of a leader, his promotion comes at a time when he almost seems past his peak.

For the past two years he has struggled at Bayern Munich and with Germany, and coaches were trying to figure out if they would rather use him as a central midfielder or right-back.

Bayern manager Vincent Kompany utilised Kimmich as a midfielder in the first two games of the Bundesliga season, but Nagelsmann could see more value in his being part of his backline.

It is a difficult situation for a player to switch between positions constantly. Kimmich is known as an energetic - even overly eager - personality who does not take setbacks and losses lightly.

In that sense, he might almost be a counterweight to younger players who seem like free spirits and enjoy expressing themselves on the pitch.

Emphasising creativity may be the most significant deviation from previous generations of Germany players.

As for the successors of recently retired players, Marc-Andre ter Stegen is expected to take Neuer’s place.

The 32-year-old Barcelona keeper has been given the number one jersey for the games against Hungary and the Netherlands, indicating he has finally reached his goal after a long waiting period.

By contrast, there is no clear-cut successor for Kroos as the deep-lying playmaker. The most realistic choice might be Bayern's Aleksandar Pavlovic, who withdrew from the Euros squad because of tonsillitis.

The 20-year-old is seen as a blue-chip talent who could mature into the next great string-puller for Germany.

But it would be too much to ask for a player who has made only 21 Bundesliga appearances for Bayern to carry Germany the way Kroos did at Euro 2024.

While Nagelsmann’s team were among the oldest at the tournament, they will be much younger and less experienced moving forward.

Given how Musiala, Wirtz and Pavlovic play and at times even celebrate football, the team could be an exciting prospect for fans.

But the German public needs to show some patience and accept that this new generation may experience setbacks in years to come.