“Because we're doing well”: ex-BVB striker Haller eyes World Cup | OneFootball

Sébastien Haller has certainly seen more successful times before. The 31-year-old former Borussia Dortmund star striker used to score with impressive regularity not only in the Black and Yellows shirt, but also for Eintracht Frankfurt and Ajax Amsterdam. Right now, however, things are not going as hoped for him at FC Utrecht. Even so, he is dreaming of taking part in the FIFA World Cup.

That major wish is likely to come true this summer. Despite a long injury layoff, Haller remains a key part of the Ivory Coast national team. The likelihood of him being included in the World Cup squad is very high. In his 34 appearances for the Ivorians, he has scored 11 goals. In 2024, he won the Africa Cup of Nations with the “Elephants.” In the 2-1 win over Nigeria in the final, he scored the decisive goal in the closing stages.

For Haller, that success surely means more than it does for any other player. Shortly after his move to BVB in the summer of 2022, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. He not only beat the tumor, but also made his return to the football pitch. The striker made a total of 41 competitive appearances for Borussia, scoring 12 goals and providing six assists.

Only one goal

But in his second season with the Westphalians, things no longer went so well for Haller. Most of the time he was only on the bench, and he also struggled with a long-term ankle injury. Last summer, he returned to Utrecht. He had already played for the club from 2015 to 2017 – with great scoring efficiency and success.

However, his record since his comeback has been extremely poor. He has made 28 appearances across all competitions so far this season. But aside from four assists, he has managed just a single goal.

Photo: Getty Images

Still, his appearance at the World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the USA is considered very likely. There, Ivory Coast will face not only Ecuador and underdog Curacao in the group stage, but also Germany. Haller is confident. “There is a mentality that has been building for quite a while. Then there is everything we have worked on tactically – and quite simply the quality of the players. If we are not conceding goals, it is because we are doing our job well,” the Frankfurter Rundschau quotes him as saying from an interview with FIFA. “With the coach and the staff, we have developed a defensive discipline that makes us stable and gives the opponent hardly any chances,” he warns the German national team.

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