Lennart Karl
The whiz kid who doesn’t think
June 1, 2026 – 9:00 a.mReading time: 4 minutes
One of the few open positions in the German World Cup team is that of the right winger. Lennart Karl made it clear on Sunday that he wanted this place.
Benjamin Zurmühl reports from Mainz
In the first 45 minutes against Finland there was rarely any noise in the stands. There was too much idle time for the German team after a good opening quarter of an hour. But there were small moments in which the audience paid close attention. For example, when Nadiem Amiri from FSV Mainz 05 was allowed to warm up after 33 minutes in his “home game”. But also when Lennart Karl was on the ball. One time he plucked down a ball as if it had glue on its foot. Sometimes he tried a trick to get past the opponent.
Like the rest of the team, Karl didn’t have much success. Three crosses went nowhere, out of three dribbles he was only able to win one, and one or two passes didn’t arrive. But that was fine. The main thing was that he tried. That he wasn’t afraid, didn’t think. Joshua Kimmich made that clear after the game. “He should have the confidence to do things, should take the balls, should take risks, should take chances,” said the DFB captain on ZDF.
A flash of inspiration from the 18-year-old in the first round was crowned with success. Before a German corner kick, Karl realized that the Finnish defense was not yet sorted and played a short pass to Joshua Kimmich, who was standing by. Kimmich’s cross landed on Deniz Undav’s head: goal. And so it got really loud in Mainz in the 34th minute.
His first involvement in a goal – and not his last either
Lennart Karl didn’t let up in the second half either, he tried again and again. He started dribbling, dared, looked for his teammates – and was successful. With an outstanding pass he set up Deniz Undav in the 57th minute. It was Karl’s first direct involvement in a goal as a German national player. Most likely not his last either.
His chances of being in the starting line-up on the right wing at the World Cup have increased thanks to the appearance against Finland. National coach Julian Nagelsmann made it clear after the game whether he actually gets this place “we will see in the next week and a half.” “He did well today, was on the move a lot, tried a lot, had a lot of one-on-one situations and thus tied the opponent and created space for other players.”
