Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann has done a decent job ever since he joined the national team, leading his country to the quarterfinals of Euro 2024 and the Nations League Finals. Now, Nagelsmann is gearing up for the biggest challenge of his career yet - the 2026 World Cup - and he revealed some of those plans to the public.
In a coaching congress in Leipzig, Nagelsmann told Sky that he plans to use captain Joshua Kimmich in midfield. Kimmich has mainly played as a right back for the national team
since 2024, but has been playing in midfield for Bayern Munich ever since Vincent Kompany replaced Thomas Tuchel.
“As of now, he’s returning to the six position because he’s simply one of two or three players who will always play there at his club,” said Nagelsmann. As the World Cup is less than a year away, “we simply don’t have the option to test too much in that position,” he added.
Nagelsmann did not reveal who he was thinking of playing at right back in place of Kimmich, but he did say that should they not live up to expectations, Kimmich could still return to the position. “If the right-back candidates we’re considering fall across the board, then things could change. Josh has outstanding stats as a right-back and also has a tremendous influence on the game,” he said.
Meanwhile, a new report form Tobi Altschäffl has suggested that Manuel Neuer could have a chance at returning to the national team next year. Current No. 1 Marc-André ter Stegen is struggling, having been demoted to third choice goalkeeper for FC Barcelona by coach (and Bayern alum) Hansi Flick. Worse still, Ter Stegen just went through a back operation as well. Reports are conflicting, but it seems certain that he will be sidelined until at least December. So Neuer could have been needed to step in...but Nagelsmann revealed that he is not considering that particular possibility.
“In my mind I know that Marc will come back in December, then play the two games in March, in June too, and then play in the World Cup. He’s number 1 when fit,” said Nagelsmann to the Sky microphone. “Manu played a very good Club World Cup, but we made the decision very consciously. As of now, there are no considerations that he comes back.”
Neuer, of course, retired from the national team following EURO 2024, and ter Stegen has taken up his mantle. However, because of his injury problems, Oliver Baumann and Alexander Nübel have also stepped in a few times.
What Ter Stegen needs to do is find a club to play for after recovering from his surgery, as it seems very unlikely that he will find consistent minutes under Flick at Barcelona. He has the quality, as he has shown in the Nations League Finals, so it is just a matter of maintaining it week in week out.
Check out the latest edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works Show where we hit these topics:
- Luis Díaz has arrived in Munich, passed his physical, and signed his deal. A new era begins...
- Will Vincent Kompany hand Díaz the job or will he have to battle Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman?
- Is there any chance that Coman or Gnabry get sold this summer?
- Why Paul Wanner, Aleksandar Pavlović, and Josip Stanišić need to win the preseason.
- A mini-rant on João Félix.
- Tottenham Hotspur could be ready to pay €52 million for João Palhinha.
You can get the show on Patreon, Acast, Spotify, any leading podcast distributor, or below:
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