World Cup preparations started
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Jonathan Tah cannot understand the public criticism of his national team colleague Leroy Sané. For the FC Bayern Munich defender, the Galatasaray offensive player, who is controversial among many fans, is a great colleague and a funny guy. After national coach Julian Nagelsmann’s nomination of the DFB squad, the personnel had sparked discussions; some experts and some fans would have preferred to see Cologne’s Said El Mala in the German World Cup squad instead of Sané.
“I don’t know anyone in the team who thinks or speaks badly about Leroy. On the contrary. On the one hand, of course, he is an outstanding football player, but on the other hand, he really has a good heart and everyone who knows him a little better and gets to know him better can feel that,” said Tah at a media round with the DFB team at the World Cup training camp in Herzogenaurach.
After moving to Turkey, Sané has seven goals and nine assists in 43 appearances. This year he only managed one goal and three assists in 20 appearances. His market value recently fell again by 2 million euros to 20 million euros in the Süper Lig update.
Tah has one particular feature that is particularly present. “I don’t know if you notice what his laugh is like, but it’s also extremely loud and just puts you in a positive mood and creates a positive atmosphere,” said the 30-year-old about the striker, who is exactly a month older. In terms of sport, Nagelsmann also believes that the winger, who has rarely excelled for the Turkish champions this season, is still valuable. “He has collected five scorers in the last four games for us,” and this rate is “very, very good,” said the national coach.
Tah and Sané celebrated their tournament debut in the DFB team ten years ago at the 2016 European Championships in France as young hopefuls. While Tah has recently been able to establish himself more and more as a regular player, Sané was, as in previous years, controversial. Nagelsmann had publicly stated in autumn 2025 that Sané would not have many more chances under him. In March during the friendly against Ghana (2-1), the offensive player was booed by the home fans in Stuttgart – which sparked strong criticism from his colleagues.
With regard to the disregard of Sané’s rivals on the wing El Mala, Nagelsmann explained: “We have many talented players who have what it takes to play at a World Cup – be it Said El Mala, Assan Ouédraogo or Tom Bischof. We didn’t nominate them for various reasons.” The trio in question is one of the most valuable German players who did not get a World Cup ticket.
