Germany’s 23-Man Squad Against Slovakia And Northern Ireland Analyzed

German national team head coach Julian Nagelsmann has nominated his 23-man squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Slovakia and Northern Ireland. (Photo by Arne Dedert/picture alliance via Getty Images)

dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images

German national team head coach Julian Nagelsmann has nominated his 23-man squad for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers away against Slovakia (Sep. 4) and at home against Northern Ireland (Sep.7). The squad includes three new names: goalkeeper Finn Dahmen (Augsburg), wing-back Nnamdi Collins (Eintracht Frankfurt, and winger Paul Nebel (Mainz).

“The three of them deserve it,” Nagelsmann said. “Finn has been a consistent Bundesliga goalkeeper for years and has had an interesting career path; he has already had to overcome some hurdles. Nnamdi played a great U21 Euros and racked up plenty of playing time in Frankfurt. He possesses good qualities and a strong physique, having played both full-back and center-back. And Paul was one of the most noticeable players at the U21 Euros and last season at Mainz.”

One quick question mark was in goal, where Nagelsmann will be without Barcelona’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen for the foreseeable future. Ter Stegen’s injury history and the fact that Barcelona has signed a new no.1 in the form of Joan García have generated a goalkeeper debate in Germany. Some media outlets have even suggested bringing back Manuel Neuer—the Bayern keeper has since categorically ruled out a return to the national team.

There were also calls to make Freiburg’s Noah Atubolu the new no.1. The 23-year-old was one of the standout players for Germany U21 that finished second at the U21 2025 European Championships this last spring. Atubolu, however, was called up on standby with Nagelsmann preferring Dahmen.

So, who will be the no.1 going forward? “The number one will be Oliver Baumann,” Nagelsmann said. “Because he’s played at an incredibly high level for years and has also performed well for us; he saved the game for us against Italy. He’s extremely popular in the team, and I have enormous confidence in him.”

Ter Stegen isn’t the only player missing due to injury. Jamal Musiala, Tom Bischof, Nico Schlotterbeck, Tim Kleindienst, and Kai Havertz are also out with injuries. Meanwhile, Robin Gosens, Thilo Kehrer, Felix Nmecha, Deniz Undav, and Jonathan Burkardt, who were all recently nominated, were left out. In their stead, Nagelsmann brought back Antonio Rüdiger, Angelo Stiller, Jamie Leweling, and Nadiem Amiri.

The most prominent face missing is Leroy Sané. The winger left Bayern Munich this summer on a free transfer, joining Turkish Süper Lig club Galatasaray. Nagelsmann made it clear that by no longer playing in a top-four league, Sané will have to make a case for himself to be called up.

“He simply has to deliver more there,” Nagelsmann said when asked about Sané. “He scored a goal and had an assist in the last game, but he needs a bit of time to get going. I wasn’t expecting miracles. I spoke a lot to Leroy. He’s not playing in the English, Spanish, German, French or Italian league, so I’m expecting certain numbers from him. If he does, then he’s still a candidate for us.”

Sané wasn’t the only player singled out by Nagelsmann. The Bundestrainer also spoke up about Aleksandar Pavlovic’s status. “Generally speaking, Aleks is a very good player; I have a close relationship with him and a close exchange,” Nagelsmann said. “But even then, his playing time last year was too little for his age, and he didn’t get enough pre-season due to his facial injury. He simply needs to stay fit for a longer period and get more than 34% of playing time. How much playing time did Lamine Yamal get last year? 100%. And our top talent got 33%.”

The lack of playing time for young players has been a recurring theme for Nagelsmann. The German national team head coach has urged Bundesliga clubs to give young talents a chance over the weekend. Singling out Pavlovic’s situation at Bayern then follows that tune.

While the lack of German talent has been an issue in the Bundesliga in recent years, Nagelsmann still expects to emerge as the group winner from World Cup qualifying Group A, which, in addition to Slovakia and Northern Ireland, also includes Luxembourg. The group winner will automatically qualify, while the runners-up will be forced to play a playoff.

“We’re the favourites in this World Cup qualifying group,” Nagelsmann said. “We, and I, have the ambition to go through it with a certain dominance. That means leaving no room for doubt during the games. We want to build a rhythm; there’s not much time left for that in the new year. It’s about showing dominance. That could even mean a dominant 1-0 win. We don’t want to have a game where we say we won by chance.”

Germany squad against Slovakia and Northern Ireland:

Goalkeepers: Oliver Baumann (Hoffenheim), Finn Dahmen (Augsburg), Alexander Nübel (Stuttgart)

Defenders: Waldemar Anton (Borussia Dortmund), Nnamdi Collins, Robin Koch (both Frankfurt), Maximilian Mittelstädt (Stuttgart), David Raum (Leipzig), Antonio Rüdiger (Real Madrid), Jonathan Tah (Bayern Munich)

Midfielders: Karim Adeyemi, Pascal Groß (Dortmund), Robert Andrich (Leverkusen) Nadiem Amiri, Paul Nebel (both Mainz), Serge Gnabry, Leon Goretzka, Joshua Kimmich (all Bayern), Jamie Leweling, Angelo Stiller (both Stuttgart), Florian Wirtz (Liverpool)

Forwards: Niclas Füllkrug (West Ham), Nick Woltemade (Stuttgart)