German football leaders have suggested national coach Julian Nagelsmann should depart the job following a three-hour meeting, the Bild newspaper reported on Thursday.
The 38-year-old is said to have asked for time to think about whether he will save face and resign after talks with senior officials at the German Football Federation (DFB) in Frankfurt.
According to a report by the Frankfurter Rundschau, Nagelsmann's exit is a done deal and should be completed by the weekend following Germany's early World Cup exit in the last 32 to Paraguay.
The federation has so far not commented.
According to dpa sources, DFB president Bernd Neuendorf informed senior honorary and full-time federation officials about the situation in an internal email on Wednesday.
He said updates would follow. The DFB supervisory board would decide on any termination of Nagelsmann's contract which runs until 2028. The same would apply to appointing a successor.
Bild reported that Neuendorf, DFB sporting director Rudi Völler, league chief Hans-Joachim Watzke and DFB managing director Andreas Rettig were present at Thursday's meeting.
Nagelsmann ruled out resigning immediately after the exit on penalties after a 1-1 draw on Monday.
But former Germany captain Lothar Matthäus said that Nagelsmann should "have the character" to say: "'I didn't succeed. The DFB trusted me. I disappointed the fans, I disappointed the players, I resign.'
"That would be the manly thing to say now: 'That's it!' And I would focus as little as possible on a huge severance payment, but instead try to work through everything and do better in the future."
Fans and pundits have touted former Borussia Dortmund coach Jürgen Klopp as a possible successor.
Klopp, 59, said he needed a break from coaching when leaving Liverpool two years ago and is now Head of Global Soccer at Red Bull.
Klopp is still at the World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada as a MagentaTV pundit.
Germany's next match is their Nations League start on September 24 against the Netherlands. Greece and Serbia are the other opponents in the group stage which runs until November.
The DFB appears set to be taking a different path as after the group stage exits at the previous two World Cups, where 2014 title winning coach Joachim Löw stayed on beyond 2018 until Euro 2021, and Hansi Flick until September 2023 despite the early exit in 2022.
Former Hoffenheim, RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich coach Nagelsmann succeeded Flick.
The 38-year-old has overseen 37 matches, of which Germany won 23, with seven draws and seven defeats. He led Germany to the quarter-finals at the home Euros in 2024 and into the Nations League finals last year.
Germany won their first two World Cup matches against Curaçao and Ivory Coast. They lost their last group match against Ecuador and then also against Paraguay in the first knock-out round.
A number of former Germany players hit out at Nagelsmann who has been criticised in many aspects - ranging from recalling goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and not playing captain Jushua Kimmich in midfield to not attending games to watch his players and opponents before the tournament and regular visits from family members at the tournament.
Also at stake could be the fate of Völler and Rettig.
Völler, who won the World Cup as a player in 1990 and coached the team into the final in 2002, agreed to take the newly created sporting director job in early 2023 in the wake of Qatar tournament disaster. Rettig joined at a later stage.
Völler played a big part in bringing Nagelsmann in three years and has always backed him. His contract is also until 2028.
Völler is widely popular in Germany but the DFB appears set for a big overhaul. Neuendorf is also tainted after the second early World Cup exit during his tenure.
The DFB must also look at its hierarchy which includes regional federations who want to be heard. Berlin's football boss Bernd Schultz said it can't be about the national team alone because the stars of the future are developed from grassroots level on.
