The 23rd final round of the Football World Cup starts on June 11th. The DFB team will then fight for the World Cup crown with 47 other nations in Canada, Mexico and the USA. Which personal national coach Julian Nagelsmann will send into the race is still up in the air. However, the DFB coach has already given a very insightful insight.
“At this World Cup we are together for a super long period of time; seven or eight weeks if everything goes well. When you sit together 24/7 for so long, a team structure has to work well because it’s not like in a club where the player goes home in the afternoon and comes back in the morning. Six weeks of national team is like six months of club football,” explains Nagelsmann in an interview with “kicker” and outlines a specific problem.
“You have to be extremely careful about how a player deals with it when he is ranked 15th or 16th in our squad, even though he is considered a top 6 man at his club who always plays. Can a player who is a regular at the club grow into such a role with us or not? Of course, it is very difficult to find out,” said the 38-year-old, who also announced difficult decisions. Especially since it’s in the nature of things that some players have character traits that make them a good regular player, “but that don’t help you being 15th or 16th in the squad.”
Nagelsmann does not even rule out the voluntary resignation of some stars. Nobody would communicate this publicly, “but in a one-to-one or six-person conversation.”
“We have no stomach ache at all in the goalkeeper position”
Incidentally, the squad that Nagelsmann will call up in March for the friendly games against Switzerland (March 27) and Ghana (March 30) will be more than just a pointer. This will be “very similar” to the World Cup squad, reveals Nagelsmann. He is therefore planning to hold so-called role discussions with the players as early as March. So that it is clear to them how the World Cup will be planned for them.
If possible, Jamal Musiala and Kai Havertz will also be there again. The duo, who have not been with the DFB team for months due to injury, currently only know the processes in theory and now have to “find the rhythm again with the national team”.
Oliver Baumann will remain number one in goal. “If Oli remains as stable and healthy as he is now, he will have a great World Cup. We have no stomach ache at all in the goalkeeper position,” says Nagelsmann. According to Nagelsmann, there is still a lot of discussion among those in charge as to who will be number two and three.
What is problematic, however, is that some positions are at least “not ideally filled”. With Nico Schlotterbeck from BVB, there is only one left-footed central defender available, the right-backs are “not all in the best flow in the league” and Nagelsmann also confirms that the storm center and the midfield center are construction sites.
Midfield duo Nmecha/Pavlovic probably not a real option
According to Nagelsmann, it is rather unlikely that Felix Nmecha from BVB and Aleksandar Pavlovic from FC Bayern will form the double six, as has recently been expected. “We need a slightly different profile for the more offensive part, but one of them definitely has a good chance of playing,” surprises Nagelsmann. According to Nagelsmann, Leon Goretzka could take on the more offensive role. “Because he is someone who also goes into the box, is strong in the air and has good power,” explains the DFB coach. In total, however, he currently has around eleven sixes on the list.
The situation is clearer in the middle of the defense, where Schlotterbeck and Jonathan Tah “did a very good job”. Real Madrid’s Antonio Rüdiger will only get a chance to return to defense if he is 100 percent fit and healthy.
Nagelsmann also gives an outlook when it comes to talent: Lennart Karl from FC Bayern is an option, but he needs to “gather a certain rhythm” and gain self-confidence. “He can’t come to us and then be the gray mouse, but he has to bring in this youthful freshness and cheekiness. Otherwise I can also take someone experienced who can reliably play his role,” clarifies Nagelsmann.
Cologne high-flyer Said El Mala will only have a chance if he can increase his playing time. “He plays 50 percent, that’s not enough,” Nagelsmann makes clear. Brajan Gruda from RB Leipzig must provide more goals and assists.
