DFB confirmed
©IMAGO
Young star Lennart Karl’s World Cup debut will be canceled in 2026. The 18-year-old offensive player from FC Bayern was injured during the final training session before the World Cup dress rehearsal this Saturday in Chicago against co-hosts USA. “We have to look for the tournament,” said national coach Julian Nagelsmann, noticeably affected. “It honestly didn’t look that good.”
Update 11:55 p.m.: The Munich homegrown player has torn a muscle bundle in his left thigh, as the DFB announced. Nagelsmann nominates Assan Ouédraogo from Leipzig to replace Karl.
Nagelsmann about the loss: “I’m incredibly sorry for Lenny. With his carefree nature, his wit, his pace and his personality, he fit into the team really well. It’s a big shock for him and all of us that he’s missing the World Cup. It’s just a small consolation that he’s young and still has a lot of tournaments ahead of him. We would have loved to have him in the team. With Assan Ouédraogo we’re now getting a player who, like Lenny, has had a great start with us He is also highly talented and should play here bravely and carefree.”
You would now have to go to the hospital with Karl. “He has to process the situation himself first, and so do we,” said Nagelsmann. “And for that we need a diagnosis,” added the national coach. Then we will see whether someone needs to be re-nominated or not, Nagelsmann explained. Nagelsmann did not provide any further injury details
Rather, he asked for calm for the young player, who has only played three international matches for the DFB team, but is still considered an absolute World Cup hopeful. Karl was only in the starting line-up for the first time in the last international match against Finland (4-0) and prepared Deniz Undav’s 3-0 win. “A lot has happened to Lenny in the last seven months. He’s a street kicker,” Nagelsmann praised afterwards. In the duel with Leroy Sané for the starting position on the right wing, the 18-year-old seemed to be ahead.
According to the FIFA statutes, Nagelsmann is allowed to replace injured outfield players in his squad until one day before the DFB’s opening game against Curaçao on June 14th. An example would be Said El Mala (19) from 1. FC Köln, who was one of the national coach’s World Cup candidates but was not included in the nomination. Or Chris Führich from Stuttgart. Serge Gnabry, an FC Bayern professional, had already had to cancel his participation in the World Cup due to a hamstring injury.