In the middle of the international match
Chants in the stadium: fans demand DFB strikers
March 30, 2026 – 9:47 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
Kai Havertz started up front against Switzerland and Nick Woltemade against Ghana. But the fans in Stuttgart had another wish.
Just over 27 minutes had been played when things got loud in Stuttgart. The fans in the MHP Arena chanted the name of a player who wasn’t even on the field. “Deniz Undav” echoed through the Stuttgart stadium during the German national team’s game against Ghana. Undav’s reaction: He stood up from the bench and thanked the fans with a thumbs up. When he went to warm up a few minutes later, there were once again chants for the VfB Stuttgart goalscorer.
Undav is a crowd favorite, but is currently only the number three striker for the national coach. Kai Havertz was allowed to start against Switzerland, while Nick Woltemade was preferred against Ghana. Julian Nagelsmann explained his decision before the game on ARD with tactical reasons. “Deniz has a lot of good moves in the league when the opponent is a bit tired because he has extraordinary creativity and that goes a bit flat when he has to work,” said the national coach. “If we worked against Switzerland for the first 60 or 70 minutes to win the game at the end.”
At the same time, Nagelsmann also emphasized that he didn’t want to change too much. “We have defined roles and if I have a role conversation with a player, then I have to stick to them to some extent in the next one or two games. Otherwise I can forget my credibility.”
When asked by ARD presenter Esther Sedlaczek whether he had also had a similar conversation with Undav and told him that he was a challenger from the bench, the national coach replied in one word: “Exactly.”
In the second half, the fans got their wish: national coach Nagelsmann substituted Undav for Serge Gnabry during the break.
