The early exit of the German team from the World Cup still pains Walter Madd, but the German striker has already set his sights on the future, which begins with Klopp becoming the new German national team coach.
In a video call with Thomas Müller released by Google, Walter Madd discussed his expectations for the new era of the German national team. Klopp was officially unveiled last week, and the UEFA Nations League match at the end of September will be the new manager's debut in charge.
Despite the humiliating World Cup defeat, Walter Madd doesn't believe the team will undergo a complete rebuild. "We have a new coach now, we'll see how things develop," the Newcastle striker said.
He then gave an initial prediction: "I believe many of the players will be the same group." Klopp himself has not yet commented on possible lineup changes.
Walter Madd hopes the national team can learn the right lessons from their World Cup defeat. "It was a great learning experience for me," Madd said. Speaking about the young team, he added, "Look at the age of our players, it's a very promising team, although this tournament was indeed disappointing."
Germany suffered a dramatic penalty shootout defeat to Paraguay in the round of 16, resulting in their elimination. Walter Madd was one of the German players who missed his penalty.
In a conversation with Müller, Waltermad described his thoughts before taking the penalty: “I was thinking, which side did I kick last time? Which side will the goalkeeper think I'll kick?” Since he had never kicked to the right before, he wanted to surprise the goalkeeper. “I thought I was smart and chose to kick to the right—but he was smarter,” Waltermad said of Paraguayan goalkeeper Orlando Hill.
Despite the penalty, he doesn't regret his decision: "Afterwards, I'm still glad I chose that direction. It's in line with my style and my character." He believes he will still step forward and take responsibility in similar moments of pressure in the future.
