World Cup 2026: who are the key players in Germany’s national team?
For World Cup 2026, head coach Julian Nagelsmann is relying on a blend of experience, creativity and speed. An overview of the key players.
Florian Wirtz
The 23-year-old brings tempo to the game and finds solutions even in the tightest spaces. In 2025, he transferred from Leverkusen to Liverpool for a record sum.
Jamal Musiala
Jamal Musiala (23) plays for Bayern Munich as an attacking midfielder. The son of Nigerian footballer Daniel Richard, he is a good dribbler with brilliant technical skills.
Deniz Undav
Scoring 19 Bundesliga goals, Deniz Undav (29) was the German pro who posed the biggest threat to the opponents’ goal in the 2025/26 season and took VfB Stuttgart into the Champions League. It was obvious that Nagelsmann would pick him for the World Cup squad.
Leroy Sané
Since 2025, 30-year-old Sané has demonstrated his strong attacking abilities at Galatasaray Istanbul. This is hardly surprising - with a German Olympic champion in rhythmic gymnastics for a mother and a Senegalese national footballer for a father, a talent for sport has always come naturally to him.
Joshua Kimmich
A key midfield playmaker at Bayern Munich who never seems to be standing still, he impresses spectators with his precision passes. Joshua Kimmich (31) has also captained Germany’s national squad since 2024.
Aleksandar Pavlović
Pavlović (22) is known for his loyalty to Bayern Munich and regarded as one of the most relentless tacklers in the Bundesliga. Alongside Kimmich, he forms the defensive backbone of the national team.
David Raum
When the 28-year-old RB Leipzig left-back unexpectedly begins to sprint, swift as an arrow, things quickly become dangerous for the opposing goal. He is a proud winner of the DFBCup and European Under-21 champion in 2021.
Nico Schlotterbeck
Head coach Nagelsmann is deploying Nico Schlotterbeck (26) as a high-scoring defender for strategic pace and playmaking. He currently plays for Borussia Dortmund.
Jonathan Tah
The 30-year-old central defender is regarded as a “calm giant”, both in positional play and in everyday life, though he can certainly turn up the heat in one-on-one duels and when heading the ball.
Antonio Rüdiger
Born in Berlin, the 33-year-old is known for verbally provoking the opposing team, currently as a player for Real Madrid. A courageous leader, he provides his team with psychological resilience - so long as he isn’t sent off with a red card.
Manuel Neuer
He remains Germany’s number one goalkeeper: with 124 caps under his belt, 40-year-old Manuel Neuer is the oldest and most experienced player on the national team. In 2014, he was part of Germany’s World Cup-winning team in Brazil.
An overview of all the players in Germany’s World Cup squad: The DFB men’s national team