Rumors about debuts and goalkeepers How Nagelsmann starts the DFB future October 2nd, 2024, 1:25 p.m. A new number one has just been named, and Marc-André ter Stegen is already injured. Striker Niclas Füllkrug will also be missing from the DFB for the time being. Time for national coach Julian Nagelsmann to let debutants play on the way to the 2026 World Cup. Everything about the upcoming squad nomination. Who will be the new number one? There is something to be said for Alexander Nübel. The 28-year-old from VfB Stuttgart was the fourth goalkeeper to be left out of the squad shortly before the European Championships in Germany, but national coach Julian Nagelsmann emphasized at the time that this had nothing to do with his performance. Due to his age, the 28-year-old Nübel is the man of the future compared to the other candidates; he plays the Champions League with VfB and therefore at the highest level. “I would express my trust in him until Marc is fit again,” said ARD expert Bastian Schweinsteiger. The number three at the European Championships was Oliver Baumann from TSG Hoffenheim, but he is already 34 years old. Like Nübel, he has not yet played an international match. What does the previous number one say? Manuel Neuer, who resigned after the European Championships, has ruled out resigning after the injury to Ter Stegen, who was promoted to number one. “We don’t need to worry about the goalkeeper position,” he said, adding that Germany has “at least two excellent goalkeepers” in Baumann and Nübel. Neuer also counts Bernd Leno from FC Fulham and Kevin Trapp from Eintracht Frankfurt among those who qualified – although the latter will be out for a while due to an injury. Will there be any changes to the squad? Last time, Angelo Stiller from VfB Stuttgart was the only newcomer Squad, at least one player will return compared to the first two games in the Nations League: Antonio Rüdiger. The defense chief was rested in the 5-0 win against Hungary and the 2-2 draw against the Netherlands. Otherwise? There will probably only be selective changes. After the resignations of Neuer, Toni Kroos, Thomas Müller and Ilkay Gündogan, Nagelsmann recently emphasized that he would “not change that much” anymore, “because the group is simply very, very coherent.” According to “Bild”, center forward Tim Kleindienst from Borussia Mönchengladbach could replace the ailing Niclas Füllkrug, who moved from BVB to West Ham United. Kleindienst moved to Borussia in the summer after strong performances at promoted team 1. FC Heidenheim. In 35 games in the Bundesliga and DFB Cup he scored 14 goals and prepared five more. In the current season, the 29-year-old has three goals in six games. Now he is apparently benefiting from Füllkrug’s absence, who had already missed the most recent international match against the Netherlands and several league games at West Ham due to an irritation in his Achilles tendon. Kleindienst has only worn the U20 national team jersey ten times so far. Is it already about the 2026 World Cup? Yes, Nagelsmann is already setting his sights on the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada and qualifying for it. The national coach has therefore decided to “find an eleven now, with five or six substitutes, who can also play in the World Cup.” This means: The current team has the best chance of forming the framework for the next two years, and whoever is now in the squad can fight for places on the bench. Players like Leroy Sané, who has been injured for a long time but is valued by Nagelsmann, or Serge Gnabry, who started the season well, are likely to have a difficult time: they have to hope for a previous squad member’s form crisis. However, the latter hopes that he will make it back into the squad. “I’ve already said that there is little worse than missing an event like the European Championships in your own country. That was extremely bitter – but at some point you have to put it aside.”And now what about Paul Wanner? After his impressive performances for 1. FC Heidenheim, the 18-year-old is in the focus of Nagelsmann, but also of Ralf Rangnick, who would like to win the native Austrian, son of an Austrian mother and a German father, for “Team Austria”. Wanner can, should and must decide for himself on a path, where this will lead him is still uncertain. He wanted to make the decision “100 percent correctly,” he told the “Kicker”. What was the mode again in the Nations League? The German team is leader of Group A3, tied on points with the Netherlands (4 each). As first or second, the DFB selection plays in a knockout round for a place in the final round with four teams. The performance in the Nations League has, among other things, effects on the opponents in the World Cup qualification.
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DFB team: Nagelsmann will nominate debutant Kleindienst, who will be number one?
