Nagelsmann promises Goretzka a major World Cup role

The national coach sees Goretzka as a good offensive player in the double six, “a really stable, strong one-on-one.” “Because he is someone who also goes into the box, is strong in the air and has good power.” Otherwise they would hardly have this profile at the DFB, but rather similar types of players, as Nagelsmann explained: “Pascal Groß, Angelo Stiller, Pavlovic, Nmecha, even Robert Andrich – they all want the ball.”

Nagelsmann announces plans that could be met with incomprehension

In general, the national coach announced surprises in the World Cup squad, similar to before the home European Championships in 2024, when it came to filling certain role models. “It’s about who fits together. There will be decisions, I can already reveal that, that will probably not be met with great understanding. Not by the player, but not by the general public either. Because perhaps a player is not planned for us in the first eleven, but is a regular player and top performer at his club,” said Nagelsmann.

“You have to be extremely careful about how a player deals with it if he is 15th or 16th in our squad, even though he is considered a top 6 man at his club who always plays. Can a player who is a regular at the club grow into such a role with us or not?” Finding out is of course very difficult, explained the national coach. “But we have a lot of experience from the courses last year. There are players who cannot fulfill this role well for us,” said Nagelsmann.

“Certain character traits” that are not helpful for squad position 15

“You just have certain character traits and certain characteristics that help you to be a good regular player who leads a team, but they don’t help you to be 15th or 16th in the squad.”