A must for the World Cup: the perfect tournament player for Germany | OneFootball

Until the self-set tournament mission of World Champion 2026 officially begins, the German national team only has a few months left. Who will play which role, should they qualify, is still completely unclear in many positions. Now, however, for the first time a player has been called up whose clear strength has always been evident.

When Noah Atubolu was called up to the DFB team, he was very much in his own zone. "After the morning training session I took a nap. When I woke up, there were several missed calls on my phone from national goalkeeping coach Andreas Kronenberg and SC goalkeeping coach Michael Müller," the keeper described a very special kind of wake-up call.

By then the driver to the German camp in Herzogenaurach was already on the way, and once again the 23-year-old had little time to think. Instead, swift action was required.

Fortunately, quick reactions are the main reason why the Freiburg homegrown joined Julian Nagelsmann’s squad. In the Bundesliga, Atubolu saved the last five penalties taken against him. A record that had been apparent since his first flight attempts in goal.

As a youth player, the 22-time U21 international played in defense for Freiburger FC. When the regular goalkeeper got injured, Atubolu spontaneously stepped between the posts—and promptly saved three of five attempts in a penalty shootout. "I wanted to feel that adrenaline again," the penalty killer once described his motivation for the path that followed in a newspaper interview.

As a late call-up and the DFB team’s number three, his first cap as a new career highlight may still take some time. Perhaps his debut will come directly on the biggest stage.

At the 2014 World Cup, then national coach Jogi Löw coined the term "specialist unit." The idea behind it: “We don’t have regular starters, but 23 World Cup participants who all have to be on high alert every second.” At the time, this primarily referred to outfield players. Later, of course, a substitute—Mario Götze—would go on to shoot Germany to the World Cup title.

But a substitute goalkeeper can also be an important World Cup specialist. Tim Krul proved that at the same tournament. The Dutchman was brought on just before the penalty shootout in the quarterfinal against Costa Rica, saved two of four attempts, and secured Oranje a place in the semifinal.

If stats-minded Julian Nagelsmann also selects on performance in this respect, he basically has to take Atubolu along. He should just maybe not call at lunchtime when he wants to inform him of his nomination.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

📸 SILAS STEIN - AFP or licensors