“The matter is over”
Undav makes another conversation with Nagelsmann public
April 5, 2026 – 7:34 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
After the national coach’s criticism, Deniz Undav spoke about his role in the national team with a view to the World Cup.
After VfB Stuttgart’s 2-0 defeat against Borussia Dortmund, national striker Deniz Undav once again commented on his relationship with national coach Julian Nagelsmann. “I don’t even want to go into the topic,” said the 29-year-old on Sky and said that there had been a conversation between the two. “The matter is over, everything is fine between us,” he added.
After Undav scored the 2-1 winning goal as a substitute in the international friendly against Ghana on Monday, a debate broke out about Julian Nagelsmann’s treatment of the striker. In the national team, the goalscorer is only a joker, and Nagelsmann also indicated that Undav is not as dangerous if he is on the field for the entire season.
However, Undav doesn’t want to be influenced by this. With a view to the World Cup, it is important for him to perform and help the team and Germany celebrate great successes. “I will always give my all for that. Whether I play for one minute or if I play 90 minutes,” he made it clear. “The rest is irrelevant.”
He did not want to reveal what exactly the national coach and the 29-year-old had discussed. “The outcry was of course huge,” but now the focus is on VfB Stuttgart. With the Swabians he wants to qualify directly for the Champions League and move into the DFB Cup final. “You can look towards the summer if you see yourself giving everything for the country.” With 16 goals, Undav is the top German goalscorer in the Bundesliga.
Record national player Lothar Matthäus described Nagelsmann’s statements as “unfortunate”. He should have voiced the criticism of Undav’s performance in private. But what is most important is that the topic is put to rest with a clarifying conversation.
