With the penultimate set of international matches before the World Cup upon the football world, fans are wondering who will take the pitch for their teams in their first games in North America. According to Bild, Germany’s starting eleven is nearing completion, but there are three spots that remain under question.
The first spot is the center back pairing. Bayern Munich’s Jonathan Tah and and Borussia Dortmund’s Nico Schlotterbeck have been starting for the national team in their most recent games,
but the return of Real Madrid’s Antonio Rüdiger might change things up. Rüdiger and Tah started at the Euros in 2024, while Schlotterbeck was used mostly as a backup. Rüdiger has not performed at his usual standard for Germany recently, though, so the decision remains open.
The second and third spots are both in attack. One of the questions is who will join Bayern’s Jamal Musiala and Liverpool’s Florian Wirtz in the trident behind the striker, assuming coach Julian Nagelsmann plays a 4-2-3-1 formation. Bild claims that Bayern’s Serge Gnabry and Bayern alum Leroy Sané are the frontrunners for the position. Sané had the better outing in Germany’s most recent games, but his form for Galatasaray has been rather patchy, while Gnabry has picked up the pace in Munich.
The final question is the striker, which is apparently a three-way battle at the moment. For some reason, Arsenal’s Kai Havertz is reportedly in pole position for the role, despite the fact that he has rarely, if ever, had a good game for the national team as a No. 9, and he has only just made his return after a long injury. Nick Woltemade started up top in the World Cup qualifiers, and delivered some good performances, but his stagnant form for Newcastle United seems to have damaged his chances. Deniz Undav is the final choice for the role, although his recent record for VfB Stuttgart should elevate his chances – no other player in the Bundesliga has scored more goals than him this season, apart from Harry Kane.
The rest of the lineup is set as follows: TSG Hoffenheim’s Oliver Baumann will be in goal, captain Joshua Kimmich and RB Leipzig’s David Raum will play at full back, while the midfield will feature a Bayern tandem in Leon Goretzka and Aleksandar Pavlović. The latter will miss the March internationals with a hip problem, though, so it remains to be seen who will take his place against Switzerland and Ghana.
