Joshua Kimmich on if people can dream of Germany winning the World Cup in 2026: “I think we are on the right track.”

Speaking in the mixed zone after Germany’s 7-0 win against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Freiburg last night, midfielder Joshua Kimmich was asked if fans can now dream of the team winning the World Cup.

After another strong performance, Germany are slowly show how they could be early favourites for the tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico in 18 months time. On if the fans can dream of Germany winning the tournament, Kimmich said:

“Yes, the hope is absolutely justified. Nevertheless, there’s still a long way to go. I think we are on the right track. I have said it a few times in the past, the World Cup does not start when the tournament begins, but already in the preparations. Until then, every win is good for us. Even against Hungary on Tuesday, where there’s nothing at stake anymore, we still want to keep going.”

After an initial teething period under Julian Nagelsmann, Germany has once again turned into one of the better teams in Europe. At EURO 2024 they performed strongly but were eliminated at the quarter-final stage after a controversial non-handball call on Marc Cucurella, but so far they have not let this elimination bog them down. 

On Saturday night, Germany comfortably swept aside Bosnia with a 7-0 win. Jamal Musiala opened the scoring very early on before Kai Havertz and Leroy Sané added to the score, while Tim Kleindiesnt and Florian Wirtz both scored braces in Freiburg. The win secured Germany’s top spot in their Nations League group despite the Netherlands beating Hungary 4-0.

On Tuesday, Germany travel to Hungary for their final Nations League group game in Budapest. Next year, Germany will compete in the quarter-finals of the Nations League, with a spot in the finals up for grabs, which they have shown interest in hosting.

GGFN | Jack Meenan