Former German player and coach Franz Beckenbauer has backed Jurgen Klinsmann despite Wednesday’s 4-1 friendly defeat in Italy.

Klinsmann has been criticised in the German press following his team’s poor performance, but Beckenbauer, who is the head of the World Cup Organising Committee believes the coach will turn it around before the comeptition starts in June.

“The worst thing that could happen now would be for us to start questioning our coach,” said Beckenbauer in Bild.

“It would be completely unnecessary and a waste of time. Jurgen Klinsmann will lead our team to the World Cup and that’s all there is to it.”

Beckenbauer did express surprise at Klinsmann’s claim that the team was still developing.

“It’s too late in the day to still be in a development stage,” he added.

“Any development has to be behind us with only three months until the World Cup.

“The body of the squad has been settled with just the little details to be decided.”

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