World Cup dream in danger
This is how 1. FC Cologne reacts to Nagelsmann’s El Mala criticism
March 5, 2026 – 7:07 p.mReading time: 3 minutes
After Julian Nagelsmann’s critical comments about Said El Mala, the striker should return to the starting eleven of 1. FC Köln – and help Lukas Kwasniok.
Before the final ten matchdays in the Bundesliga, there are… 1. FC Cologne Above all, two players are the focus, and they depend on each other: For Lukas Kwasniok, the fight to stay in the league is also a fight for his own job. For this, the coach needs the goals of Said El Mala, who wants to crown his brilliant debut season and jump on the World Cup bandwagon.
The latter goal seems to have become more distant in recent months, given Julian Nagelsmann’s recent statements. “Said has to claim that he is a regular player in Cologne and always plays. But he plays 50 percent, that’s not enough,” the national coach told “Kicker” this week.
Kwasniok had the 19-year-old shuttle between the starting eleven and the bench over the course of the season, most recently due to muscular problems. The Cologne coach reacted cautiously to Nagelsmann’s very clear words: “It’s not my place to judge that. I value Julian very much, but I don’t have to have daily contact with him.”
However, it can be heard that Kwasniok does not welcome the national coach’s statements: “Basically, Said gets a lot of information from a lot of people,” says the 44-year-old and lists “social media, coaching team, club, advisor, family and environment.” “It’s not always that easy to process all this information,” says Kwasniok and has to add: “Now the national coach has also commented on him.”
Whether El Mala can put this aside and concentrate on his performance will be seen at the weekend against Borussia Dortmund. Kwasniok promises his top scorer the starting eleven that Nagelsmann demands: “Said has marched this week, especially because he wants to play from the start. That’s the crucial thing for me, and that’s why there’s a very high probability that he’ll start from the start on Saturday evening.”
If El Mala engages in self-promotion against BVB, there is a high probability that Kwasniok will not have to worry about his job at FC. After only one point from the last four games, “Sport Bild” reported an ultimatum from those responsible: Kwasniok had to get four points from the next three games against Dortmund, HSV and Gladbach in order to stay in office.
