Kai Havertz won the Champions League, is the English champion and the top goalscorer in the German World Cup squad. This is also why he has to “go first,” he said in an interview with Sportschau.
Thomas Müller ended his career in the German national team with a curious statistic. He didn’t score a goal in 17 games at the European Championships, but scored ten goals in 19 games at the World Championships.
The current squad of the German national soccer team includes 15 players who have fewer international matches than Thomas Müller has played in a World Cup.
| name | Goals | World Cup participation |
|---|---|---|
Miroslav Klose | 16 | 4 |
Gerd Müller | 14 | 2 |
Jürgen Klinsmann | 11 | 3 |
Helmut Rahn | 10 | 2 |
Thomas Müller | 10 | 4 |
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | 9 | 3 |
Uwe Seeler | 9 | 4 |
Rudi Völler | 8 | 3 |
Hans Schäfer | 7 | 3 |
Max Morlock* | 6 | 1 |
* With Helmut Haller and Lothar Matthäus there are two other players with six goals, but they needed three and five World Cup appearances respectively.
Müller is only of limited use as a reference, if only because the World Championships ended quickly for Germany in the last two editions. Before things quickly ended in Qatar four years ago, Kai Havertz scored two goals.
Havertz two, rest zero
They were not enough to progress in the 4-2 win against Costa Rica. But at least they made sure that at least one of the 23 field players in the current squad knows the feeling of having scored a goal at a World Cup. Neither Leroy Sané (17 international goals), Leon Goretzka (15), Florian Wirtz (11), Joshua Kimmich (10) nor Jamal Musiala (9) have been able to do this so far.
The German players have scored two more goals at World Cups than the World Cup debutants from Curaçao, who will be their first opponents in Houston on Sunday.
The expectation among the German fans is still a clear victory with probably other goalscorers than Havertz, but he will be the first port of call for assists due to his position. Havertz is expected to be deployed as a center forward, as he did in the last test against the USA, when he needed just under two minutes to score his 22nd goal in his 58th international match.
Two goals in Champions League finals
Kai Havertz won the Champions League with Chelsea FC in 2021. He scored the goal in the 1-0 final against Manchester City. Last season he became English champion with Arsenal FC. He was in the final of the Champions League again, giving the Gunners a 1-0 lead, but they lost to Paris Saint-Germain on penalties.
Havertz has been playing in the Premier League for big London clubs for six years now. As a rule, the former Leverkusen player also played when he wasn’t injured, and he was that way for a long time last season.
The tally of two goals in twelve Premier League games is therefore rather modest, but four goals in six Champions League games is impressive given the long break.
Underrated? “I’m used to it now”
Deniz Undav only scored three goals in ten Europa League games for VfB Stuttgart, but also 19 in 29 league games. He is the Bundesliga’s top goalscorer with a German passport and has also scored six times in nine international matches.
He is also extroverted and therefore more of a crowd-pleaser type. In an exclusive interview with Sportschau, Havertz showed understanding. In Germany, people watch the Bundesliga more than the Premier League, and the fact that he is underestimated in his home country, “I’m used to that now.”
Havertz said: “I’m not the one who makes big speeches in the dressing room before the game.” Nevertheless, “I’m not someone who can hide behind a big guy. I have to lead the way myself.”
After all, he has been a professional for ten years now and is therefore no longer the youngest in the squad. On Thursday (June 11, 2026), when he spoke to Sportschau, Havertz celebrated his 27th birthday.