Referreport
When Julian Nagelsmann entered the training ground shortly after eleven o’clock, he was pretty lonely. Most of his national soccer players, including returnee Robin Gosens, only strolled down the small stairs to the lawn a few minutes later. At least, the national coach may have thought. After the cancellations of five regulars, Nagelsmann has to improvise heavily for the Nations League task in Bosnia-Herzegovina. There can no longer be any talk of revenue for the big title goal.
“It feels like half the team is gone,” said captain Joshua Kimmich. “It’s difficult to absorb that. Because it’s not like we’ve had the core of the team for five years.” In Zenica on Friday (8:45 p.m./RTL) in front of a good 13,000 very loud Bosnian fans, it will be shown whether the DFB selection is solid enough. “It is important that players take responsibility,” said leader Kimmich.
The first training session on Tuesday at the team headquarters in Herzogenaurach turned into a get-to-know-you session with the “new faces” (Kimmich) of Gladbach’s Tim Kleindienst, Stuttgart’s Jamie Leweling and Mainz’s Jonathan Burkardt. The new ones bring “a lot of energy,” Kimmich reported, “they’re on fire.”
Nagelsmann’s squad plan B
Striker Kleindienst was called up as planned by Nagelsmann because Niclas Füllkrug is still out with an irritated Achilles tendon. Outside player Leweling replaced Jamal Musiala (hip joint) at short notice and the recently in-form and accurate attacker Burkardt replaced Kai Havertz (knee). Striker Kevin Schade, nominated for central defender Robin Koch (hip), is still fairly new with three international matches.
Gosens was finally brought back for Leipzig’s David Raum (ankle). The outside player, who moved to AC Fiorentina, was last used in the first two international matches under Nagelsmann during the trip to the USA in October 2023. “Robin is always someone who is eager to be here,” said Kimmich. Nagelsmann has known for a long time that regular goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen (torn patella tendon), who has been missing for months, has to be replaced.
Kimmich: Nomination is a privilege
“To be able to be here is something very special,” said Kimmich. Being able to play for the national team is a privilege, regardless of whether you have 100 international matches or just three. “I’m happy for everyone who has earned and worked for it,” said the captain. The Bayern professional commented meaningfully on the fact that goalkeeper Bernd Leno had canceled the national coach due to a lack of prospects of playing, pointing out that he was not involved in the communication: “If someone doesn’t want to be there, they don’t have to come.”
Hoffenheim’s Oliver Baumann (34) will play in one of the two international matches. Alexander Nübel (28) also has a good chance of making his debut in the DFB goal. Baumann is a “great guy,” said his former teammate Serge Gnabry, who is making a new attempt in the national jersey after missing the European Championship at home due to injury – and is practically set in the thinned-out offensive. “I’m playing well right now,” said Gnabry confidently.
In Zenica and three days later in Munich against the Netherlands, the DFB selection would of course expect “extremely difficult games,” said Gnabry. He and Kimmich emphasized that the goal remains to win both games, even with a presumably half B-Elf. Then Germany would be assured of qualification for the quarter-finals of the once unpopular competition.
“We had to make some changes to the squad at short notice due to a few injuries,” said Nagelsmann, which doesn’t really fit into the national coach’s “master plan” outlined a few weeks ago. The 37-year-old wanted to have the possible World Cup eleven play as consistently as possible with the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico in mind with the title goal in mind. Nagelsmann has to postpone that: the team that is on the pitch in Zenica and Munich may never appear in this constellation again.
Source: German