Nadiem Amiri has experienced difficult times in Leverkusen. He blossomed again in Mainz and was nominated for the World Cup. He will probably sit on the bench for the “home game” against Finland. It’s not a problem for him, he’s been dealing with it much better since the difficult times.
Oliver Baumann will be in goal, Julian Nagelsmann revealed that days ago. Manuel Neuer will be rested in the test match against Finland on Sunday (May 31, 2026, from 8:35 p.m. in the audio stream) in Mainz.
Joshua Kimmich defends on the right back. Jonathan Tah and Nico Schlotterbeck should be the two central defenders, with David Raum on the left side of the back four. Aleksandar Pavlović and Felix Nmecha start in the central midfield of the 4-2-3-1 system favored by Julian Nagelsmann, as the national coach said on Saturday in Herzogenaurach.
Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz should be in the attacking midfield. Lennart Karl starts on the right side, as the national coach also revealed. “Deniz Undav will probably start at the front,” said Nagelsmann.
Time is so short for a home bonus
It is more common for players to be used who also play home games with their Bundesliga team in the respective stadium. For example, Alexander Nübel from VfB was in goal when Germany won 2-1 against Ghana in Stuttgart at the end of March.
That was the third to last test, so now the penultimate one follows in Mainz. It is the last one before departure for the World Cup, and therefore the chances of a home bonus for Nadiem Amiri are slim.
“I come from Ludwigshafen. I’m grateful to be here”
The midfielder is counting on this, as has also emerged from discussions with the national coach over the past few weeks. He doesn’t want to be misunderstood, he is “not happy” about a place on the bench.
But that he even managed an intensive rehabilitation program (“I’ve never worked so hard before.”) I managed to recommend myself in time and ultimately be in the squad, that’s enough for him.
Nadiem Amiri training in Herzogenaurach
“I come from Ludwigshafen. I’m grateful to be here,” he said at a media round at the DFB training camp in Herzogenaurach.
The small town in Middle Franconia collects trade taxes from three global corporations, including the two sporting goods suppliers Adidas and Puma. Ludwigshafen also has other large companies, but is dominated by BASF, and this also applies to the cityscape. Ludwigshafen, and this is what Amiri meant when he referred to his hometown, stands for work, for fighting hard, for biting, just like Wedding for football greats from Berlin and the famous monkey cage in Gelsenkirchen, in which Mesut Özil shot the ball into the metal net as a child.
Exactly the next wrong step
Ludwigshafen and BASF are like Leverkusen and Bayer, except that they have the much more successful factory association in the city downstream from the Rhine. Amiri moved to Leverkusen in 2019 from TSG Hoffenheim, where he had trained under Nagelsmann for years.
“This is exactly the right next step”he said, as they say. In Herzogenaurach, Amiri said: “I was completely left out and was treated badly. In the end I just wanted to leave, I just wanted to go home.”
Help from Mental trainer
The now 29-year-old Amiri was so depressed in Leverkusen that he hired a mental trainer, which he would recommend to anyone in a similar situation. “One moment can decide the game”whether he would be in the starting line-up or come on as a substitute in the 90th minute. She not only told him that, but he internalized it.
“She helped me a lot. Fortunately, I don’t need her anymore.” Amiri believes that “many players are very dissatisfied”if they sit on the bench at kick-off, “They then spend too long on it”. Amiri says he’s the game “already on the bench” follow closely: “Where can something arise?“
Important goal on the way to the World Cup – as Substitute
The national team also has him to thank for the fact that Amiri will be flying to the World Cup with the DFB entourage on Tuesday. After the 0:2 at the start of the qualification in Slovakia, it was only 1:1 at the break in the second game against Northern Ireland.
After just over an hour Amiri came on as a substitute, in the 69th minute he scored his first and so far only goal in nine international matches, three minutes later he was fouled and Florian Wirtz converted the free kick to make the final score 3-1. Germany was back on track.
