National coach Julian Nagelsmann has announced his final squad ahead of the World Cup squad selection. Jonas Urbig and Lennart Karl have deservedly made the cut, whilst a U-turn could be on the cards in midfield.
“The winter break has gone on long enough,” Julian Nagelsmann thought to himself two and a half weeks ago, and promptly reminded everyone of his presence with a sensational interview. In *Kicker*, the German manager set the tone for the World Cup and the recent announcement of the final squad ahead of the tournament in North America with some controversial remarks.
“There will be decisions,” Nagelsmann announced meaningfully, “which I can already tell you now are unlikely to be met with much understanding. Not from the players, but not from the general public either.” Unlike with his March squad ahead of the 2024 home European Championship, when he dropped Mats Hummels, Niklas Süle, Leon Goretzka, and Serge Gnabry and recalled Toni Kroos, however, there was no major shake-up in March 2026.
While a few big names are missing, none of the absences are anywhere near as dramatic or surprising as they were back then. Maximilian Mittelstädt, Karim Adeyemi, Niclas Füllkrug, and Robert Andrich are struggling to reach their best form. Angelo Stiller and Maximilian Beier were already absent from the last squad. Said El Malas’s situation at 1. FC Köln remains unchanged. None of these are heavyweights. Jamal Musiala is set to recover from his ankle problems in Munich.
The first-time call-ups of Lennart Karl and Jonas Urbig are justified, given their performances at FC Bayern, and are likely to be welcomed by the general public. With seven players, the Munich side now forms a large contingent again; at the World Cup, this could even grow to eight players with a recovered Musiala.
Musiala is the only player not called up who – provided he is fit by then – can count on a World Cup nomination. Kevin Schade is competing with Beier and Adeyemi for the role of counter-attacking striker in the squad, as Nagelsmann confirmed at his press conference on Thursday. The national coach backed Nick Woltemade despite his difficult spell at Newcastle United. Following Nagelsmann’s detailed explanations regarding his non-selection, Stiller can hardly expect to stand a chance.
The biggest surprises in the squad selection are mainly seen as such because of Nagelsmann’s own announcements: Anton Stach’s return to the DFB after a four-year absence and Felix Nmecha’s classification as an “attacking player”, accompanied by comments about Leon Goretzka at the press conference.
In an interview with *Kicker*, Nagelsmann had complained about a lack of attacking midfielders. In his view, Aleksandar Pavlovic, Felix Nmecha, Pascal Groß, Angelo Stiller, and Robert Andrich are “all very similar types of player”. That is why he has no plans for a double-pivot consisting of Pavlovic and Nmecha, something many fans and experts – led by chief critic Lothar Matthäus – are vehemently calling for. “One of the two definitely has a good chance of playing,” said Nagelsmann. “But we need a slightly different profile for the more attacking role.”
For that very role, Nagelsmann held out the prospect of a World Cup starting spot for Munich reserve Goretzka, a player who is certainly controversial among the German football public. The national coach played down the question of whether he was considering Stach as an alternative. The 27-year-old is doing “well” at Leeds United, he said, “but he’s not particularly strong in the air and isn’t the best in one-on-one duels either; rather, he’s someone who likes to have the game in front of him”.
Nevertheless, Nagelsmann surprisingly called up Stach to the squad, just like Pavlovic, Nmecha and Groß – in his view, four very similar types of player for what is presumably a single position. Yet a U-turn is on the cards for Nmecha. Unlike in the autumn and contrary to the national coach’s recent statements, the Dortmund player is listed this time not under “Defensive” but under “Offensive”. So perhaps Nagelsmann is now considering a double six consisting of Pavlovic and Nmecha after all – at Goretzka’s expense.
At the press conference, Nagelsmann certainly sounded very different on this matter compared to his comments in the Kicker interview. He claimed his remarks about Goretzka had been misinterpreted. “I said: ‘He has a good chance of playing’,” Nagelsmann quoted himself correctly, adding: “Playing can also mean just two minutes.” What Nagelsmann omitted was the second part of his statement at the time. The exact wording was: “As things stand, Leon Goretzka, despite limited playing time at Bayern, will have a good chance of playing and taking on a similar role to that in the World Cup qualifiers.” There, Goretzka was in the starting line-up for five out of six matches and came on as a substitute in the last one. In other words: a regular starter.
Now Nagelsmann also referred to Goretzka’s recent lack of playing time at Bayern and proactively brought up Nmecha. “In Felix Nmecha, we have a player in the squad who can also fill this position, but interprets it a little differently.” To date, Pavlovic and Nmecha have never started together under Nagelsmann; their debut as a pair may well come in one of the upcoming friendlies against Ghana and Switzerland.
