Julian Nagelsmann and the DFB officially announced Germany’s 26-man roster for the World Cup on Thursday morning. It’s Nagelmann’s second major tournament at the helm after controversially getting knocked out of the 2024 European Championship by eventual champions Spain in the quarterfinals.
Die Mannschaft will be hoping to change their fortunes on the world’s biggest stage. After lifting the trophy in 2014, the German national team crashed out in the group stages in back to back World Cups. They’ll kick off their tournament with a match against Curaçao in Houston on June 14, then travel north of the border to face Ivory Coast in Toronto on June 20. Their group stage will conclude with a game against Ecuador in East Rutherford (NY/NJ) on June 25.
Let’s meet the squad that will try to add a fifth star to the Germany crest.
Goalkeepers
One of the biggest storylines in this roster comes in between the sticks. Legendary keeper Manuel Neuer is BACK for his fifth World Cup despite retiring from international football after the Euros in 2024. Not only is he in the squad, he was publicly confirmed as the #1 by Nagelsmann.
This must’ve been a tough pill to swallow for Oliver Baumann, who started all of Germany’s qualifying matches and kept a clean sheet in the final four of them. When asked about the situation, Nagelsmann referred to Baumann as a world class 1B solution.
Neuer is currently out with a calf injury and will miss the DFB-Pokal final for Bayern Munich. However, it’s not serious enough to put his World Cup participation in jeopardy. The third goalkeeper in the squad is Stuttgart’s Alexander Nübel. The 29 year old led the Bundesliga in goals prevented this season as he helped his club qualify for the Champions League.
Defenders
Nagelsmann decided to go heavy on center-backs, selecting five to make the trip to North America. Those five are Borussia Dortmund duo Waldemar Anton and Nico Schlotterbeck, Real Madrid’s Antonio Rüdiger, Bayern Munich’s Jonathan Tah, and Newcastle United’s Malick Thiaw. Tah and Schlotterbeck have emerged as the preferred duo, with the former even scoring in their March friendly against Switzerland.
The biggest exclusion is Yann Bisseck, who has had another good season. He’s been a starter for Inter Milan as they completed the domestic double by winning Serie A and Coppa Italia. Despite his performances for the best team in Italy, Nagelsmann has still only given Bisseck one senior cap.
On the left side of defense, Germany are well covered with two players who offer a lot going forward. David Raum will be the starter after a 10 g/a season in the Bundesliga with RB Leipzig. The 28 year old left back also contributed a goal and two assists in World Cup qualifying. His backup will be German-American Nathaniel Brown. Known as “Nene,” the Eintracht Frankfurt wingback broke into the German senior team in October after a long career with the U21s and has done enough to keep his spot.
The right back position is a bit of a different story. The starting spot is firmly held by Germany captain Joshua Kimmich. He’s enjoyed another stellar season with Bayern Munich, although he has been playing in the midfield as opposed to defense. Kimmich doesn’t have a true backup in the squad and will likely play close to every minute of the tournament, but if he needs a sub expect Brighton’s Pascal Groß to deputize at right back. Ridle Baku and Josha Vagnoman were options for that position but ultimately didn’t make the cut.
Midfielders
Aside from the aforementioned Kimmich and Groß, there are four other midfielders in the squad that will play in the double pivot for Nagelsmann. Unlike the defense, the starters here are up in the air. Stuttgart’s Angelo Stiller started both March friendlies and seems like a good bet as the only left-footed option.
In the higher profile game against Switzerland it was Leon Goretzka who partnered Stiller and since it was Groß who started in the Ghana match, I anticipate Goretzka will be the one starting in the World Cup. The other options are Bayern youngster Aleksander Pavlović and Dortmund’s Felix Nmecha.
Two young players who barely missed the cut were Tom Bischof and Assan Ouédraogo. The latter made his senior debut against Slovakia in November and scored in that game, but hasn’t been called back in since. Bischof was “really close” to making the squad according to Nagelsmann. What ultimately held him back was the lack of minutes at Bayern and more specifically the lack of minutes in the midfield where Germany would use him.
Attackers
Rounding out this star-studded Germany team are the attackers, with a lot of big names and some notable exclusions. Starting off with the attacking midfielder and winger positions, Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz form a dynamic duo that will strike fear into any defense they come up against.
Musiala has been progressing back to his best since returning from the broken leg he suffered last summer at the Club World Cup. Although it’s not been smooth sailing for Wirtz in his first season with Liverpool, his form for Germany is still top class. He scored a brace and notched two assists in the 4-3 win over Switzerland. The backups for these two are Bayern starlet Lennart Karl and Mainz talisman Nadiem Amiri. Serge Gnabry would’ve played a key role if not for his torn adductor muscle.
That leaves room for one true winger in the starting eleven, likely playing on the right hand side. Leroy Sané is the likely candidate, but it hasn’t been a great season for him with Galatasaray especially when it mattered most in the Champions League. That paired with his poor performances in Germany’s last major tournament could mean that Stuttgart’s Jamie Leweling or Dortmund’s Maximilian Beier could get a chance to earn the spot.
This creative area of the pitch is where the most contentious snubs happened. Karim Adeyemi is perhaps the biggest name to miss out. Although it was a lackluster season for the Dortmund winger, his pace could’ve been a real asset off the bench for Nagelsmann. Another winger that didn’t make the cut is Brentford’s Kevin Schade, who was called into camp in March but failed to play a single minute. Finally, Köln wonderkid Saïd El Mala had a real argument to make this roster. He’s taken the Bundesliga by storm in his first season in the top flight, scoring 13 goals and providing 4 assists.
The last part of this Germany roster is of course the strikers. Kai Havertz has established himself as the starter since returning from injury midseason and just helped Arsenal to a historic Premier League title. Newcastle’s Nick Woltemade offers something different off the bench with his 6’6 frame and physicality. Deniz Undav is the final inclusion as he’s been incredible for Stuttgart, scoring 25 goals and providing 14 assists in all competitions.
Germany Full World Cup Squad:
Goalkeepers:
- Oliver Baumann (Hoffenheim)
- Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich)
- Alexander Nübel (Stuttgart)
Defensive:
- Waldemar Anton (Borussia Dortmund)
- Nathaniel Brown (Eintracht Frankfurt)
- Pascal Groß (Brighton & Hove Albion)
- Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)
- Felix Nmecha (Borussia Dortmund)
- Alexsander Pavlović (Bayern Munich)
- David Raum (RB Leipzig)
- Antonio Rüdiger (Real Madrid)
- Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund)
- Angelo Stiller (Stuttgart)
- Jonathan Tah (Bayern Munich)
- Malick Thiaw (Newcastle United)
Offensive:
- Nadiem Amiri (Mainz)
- Maximilian Beier (Borussia Dortmund)
- Leon Goretzka (Bayern Munich)
- Kai Havertz (Arsenal)
- Lennart Karl (Bayern Munich)
- Jamie Leweling (Stuttgart)
- Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich)
- Leroy Sané (Galatasaray)
- Deniz Undav (Stuttgart)
- Florian Wirtz (Liverpool)
- Nick Woltemade (Newcastle United)
