Klopp met senior DFB officials on Friday, with further discussions planned for the coming week. An agreement with Red Bull, where he has served as head of global football since January 2025, is still to be finalised, but a move now appears to be only a matter of time.
"DFB president Bernd Neuendorf and DFB vice-president Hans-Joachim Watzke held their first in-depth talks with Jurgen Klopp in New York regarding his potential appointment as national team coach," the DFB said in a statement. "During the constructive exchange, an agreement was reached on the key points of a potential contract. Talks will continue next week.
"Both sides are confident that the negotiations - subject to an agreement with Klopp's current employer, Red Bull - can ultimately be successfully concluded."
Klopp is expected to sign a four-year deal, taking charge for what will be his first coaching job since he left Liverpool in the summer of 2024 and his first role in international management. He has been working as a pundit for German television during the World Cup and had repeatedly been linked with a return to club management, including reported interest from Real Madrid in March, which he dismissed as "all nonsense."
His trophy haul at Liverpool across nine years ran to seven pieces of silverware, headlined by the 2019-20 Premier League crown and a Champions League triumph the year before. Before that came two Bundesliga titles at Borussia Dortmund between 2008 and 2015, with his coaching journey having started at Mainz 05, the only club he represented as a player of note.
Watzke, 69, worked closely with Klopp during his time at Dortmund, where he was chief executive from 2005 until standing down last year, and that relationship is thought to have been central to the speed of negotiations with one of the most sought-after coaches in football.
Germany are searching for a fresh direction after a chastening World Cup, having been eliminated at the last-32 stage following a penalty shootout defeat by Paraguay. It continued a pattern of underwhelming tournament performances, with the country failing to progress beyond the group stage at the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
Julian Nagelsmann took over in September 2023 and steered the hosts to the Euro 2024 quarter-finals, where an extra-time defeat to eventual champions Spain ended their run. His contract was later extended through to Euro 2028, but he opted to step down following this year's tournament exit.