Test match against Finland
National coach Nagelsmann calls Deniz Undav into the starting line-up
May 30, 2026 – 4:08 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
There was a lot of excitement in the national team recently about Deniz Undav. The striker now has a chance to play in the starting eleven.
With Deniz Undav and starting eleven debutant Lennart Karl, the German national soccer team is playing its last World Cup test match before leaving for the USA. National coach Julian Nagelsmann announced the use of Stuttgart striker Undav and Bayern talent Karl for the game against Finland on Sunday (8:45 p.m. in the live ticker on t-online).
Nagelsmann revealed that we would “certainly see a few players” from his dream World Cup formation in the starting line-up. In defensive midfield he plans to play with Dortmund’s Felix Nmecha, who has been injured for a long time this year, and Munich’s Aleksandar Pavlović.
“Get into the rhythm quickly”
“We will see a lot of that, which, if everything goes normally, could also start in the first game,” said the national coach. You don’t have “too much time in training”, so despite all the competition you have to try to “get into the rhythm quickly”.
Given the absence of Kai Havertz (Arsenal FC) due to the Champions League final, Undav, who Nagelsmann intended as a joker, can also campaign for more playing time, as can the Munich teenager Karl. The 18-year-old has appeared as a substitute twice for the national team.
Musiala is looking forward to a comeback
After a long injury break, Bayern star Jamal Musiala is looking forward to his comeback. The 23-year-old last played for the German national team in March 2025. “I’m really happy. It feels like I haven’t been there for a long time,” said the Munich native.
After the training days in Herzogenaurach and the test against Finland, the DFB team played another test match. On Tuesday the team will fly to Chicago, where the USA will be the opponent in the World Cup dress rehearsal on June 6th. Two days later the move to the World Cup team headquarters in Winston-Salem in North Carolina takes place. For a successful World Cup, “team spirit is fundamental,” said sports director Rudi Völler.
At the World Cup, the group opponents are Curaçao on June 14th in Houston, the Ivory Coast on June 20th in Toronto, Canada and Ecuador on June 25th in the final stadium in East Rutherford.
