Germany March 2026 Report Card | Six “winners” and four “losers” among 20 players scored | OneFootball

Germany’s March 2026 international break is now officially complete. In their penultimate bit of un-official action before the coming summer World Cup, Julian Nagelsmann’s German Nationalmannschaft won both of their friendlies. A 3-4 away win over Switzerland in Basel on Friday night was followed up by a 2-1 win over Ghana in Stuttgart on Wednesday.

Just as we did last year, Get German Football News is pleased to supply a full report card for all  Germany players who saw significant action. This time around, 20 German footballers are scored. Players are graded in individual sections below, in descending order from the highest marks to the lowest.

Six professionals attained top-level (A) marks and are classified as “winners” while four German footballers clocked in at the lowest (D) level and are classified as “losers” in the analysis. The remaining ten actors furnished fair-to-middling performances.

Two Premier League and four Bundesliga pros comprise the “winners” bracket. Three of the four Bundesliga footballers play for Bayern Munich. In the “losers” bracket, Stuttgart players make of three-fourths of the players who find their World Cup dream threatened or likely done. 

Florian Wirtz, Liverpool

Matches played = 2/2, Matches started = 2/2

Minutes played = 151/180, Positions played = LW

Cumulative German Press Grade = 2,25

Author’s Cumulative Grade = A+

There genuinely can be no question as to who the biggest German “winner” of the international break was. Wirtz delivered a god-like performance in the opening match against Switzerland. The scoresheet statistics (two goals and two assists) don’t do full justice to just how masterful Wirtz was whilst being directly involved in all four of Germany’s goals. Wirtz’s tallies were absolute masterpieces. Serge Gnabry and Jonathan Tah would not have scored were it not for filthy slick set-ups from their countryman.

Wirtz’s couldn’t help but tick downward in the second fixture against Ghana. One cannot capture two bolts of lightning in the same bottle. The author wishes to note that the 22-year-old came damn close. Wirtz played as if he were shot out of a cannon in Stuttgart, nearly setting up an early goal and himself striking the post with an early free-kick, and even setting up the 1-0 (from the penalty spot) with an enterprising run at the tail-end of the first half. Simply stated, Wirtz worked his socks off.

German football observers who have been closely monitoring Wirtz since he made his Bayern Leverkusen less than two weeks after his 17th birthday haven’t seen him play with this sort of energy, fluidity, and agility for well over a year. These two matches reminded one of just what a generational talent Flo is. Liverpool fans will surely hope Wirtz can bring some of the magic back Merseyside. Germans presently find themselves more excited about Wirtz than any other player. 

Kai Havertz, Arsenal

Matches played = 2/2, Matches started = 2/2

Minutes played = 109/180, Positions played = LS, RW

Cumulative German Press Grade = 2,75

Author’s Cumulative Grade = A

Ahem. Apropos struggling Premier League players, Havertz managed to put in two decent shifts on his return to the continent. Wirtz’s former Leverkusen teammate (and fellow young debutant) spearheaded Nagelsmann’s 4-2-3-1 in the first match. Though not naturally a lead striker, Havertz did an admirable job working as a center forward. The 26-year-old worked the top axis space very well, always getting himself into dangerous positions and displaying fine intuition when it came to dropping back in order to work the passing patterns. 

Havertz managed three solid efforts on target in the first match. Surprisingly enough, he really did well working behind Nick Woltemade on the right in the second game. The Arsenal man got off two decent shots and was robbed of a golden goal-scoring opportunity by some excellent defending from new Wolfsburg signing Jonas Adjetey inside of five minutes. After showing plenty of flashes of brilliance during the opening 45, Havertz was permitted to score his first German national team goal in 17 months from the penalty spot. 

Havertz very much looked a confident player and not at all like a footballer still building up rhythm after a long injury layoff. Part of this may have to do with the fact that Nagelsmann told him before the start of the second match that he could leave it all on the pitch before getting rested for the second 45. In any event, Kai made a strong case for himself in two attacking positions ahead of the coming summer tournament. Ideally, he can pick up more steam for his English club in both the Premier and Champions League.

Serge Gnabry, FC Bayern München

Matches played = 2/2, Matches started = 2/2

Minutes played = 135/180, Positions played = ATTM, AM

Cumulative German Press Grade = 3,0

Author’s Cumulative Grade = A

Vincent Kompany’s favorite “underrated player” continues to enjoy a renaissance both as a No. 10 position player and a German national team leader. It’s odd to think that – were it not for Jamal Musiala’s injury in last summer’s Club World Cup – Gnabry might not have received a lucrative Bayern contract extension. The 30-year-old certainly wouldn’t be the undisputed starting ten in Nagelsmann’s squad. The author confesses that he always wished to see Gnabry in a centralized support axis role. Former Bundestrainer Jogi Löw did him a terrible disservice by starting him as a center forward. 

Gnabry scored an excellent technical goal and added a fine assist in the first victory against Switzerland. He rotated excellently throughout his full 90 minute shift, adding an air of unpredictability to both the German attack charges and counters. The former Arsenal flop found himself unlucky not to score another goal when a quality effort was blocked by FCB teammate Jonathan Tah. He unfortunately didn’t look nearly as sharp in the second fixture in his native Stuttgart, sending an excellent chance wide and failing with his touch on a couple of occasions.

Like Havertz, Gnabry was accorded only 45 minutes in front of his hometown crowd. The graduate of both Stuttgart footballing academies might have let nerves get the better of him as he attempted to “stir his pot” in front of a larger cohort of family and friends. The author lets it slide more than some of the harsher German press sources do. Gnabry simply deserves the accolades ahead of what might be his last major dance for country this summer. With his own inherent bias noted, the author just wants to see him etch his name in the history books. 

David Raum, RB Leipzig

Matches played = 2/2, Matches started = 1/2

Minutes played = 119/180, Positions played = LB

Cumulative German Press Grade = 2,75

Author’s Cumulative Grade = A

Everyone’s favorite “tattooing and crossing artist” contributed much to the first victory. Admittedly, the fact that Wirtz through the Swiss coverage ranks into disarray ahead of him helped out immensely. Two great assisted shots, a fine effort of his own, and six quality crosses kept the Nürnberg-native on the radar of all observers. He also made some monster defensive tackles, bailing the shaky German defensive ranks out on several occasions. In the midst of his best club campaign since moving to Saxony, the new RB skipper has definitely finally fully arrived for country. 

Raum had to make way for Nathaniel Brown’s latest audition in the second match. As well as Raum’s much younger Eintracht Frankfurt compatriot did, it’s doubtful that Brown issued much of a challenge to Raum’s starting position. Raum also came on to play the final 29 minutes of the victory over Ghana. He kept up an energetic and disciplined presence in defense, also managing to find a way to assist on a couple of shots on the forward charge. Very nice stuff from the 27-year-old in both games. 

Leon Goretzka, FC Bayern München

Matches played = 2/2, Matches started = 1/2

Minutes played = 110/180, Positions played = CM, ATTM

Cumulative German Press Grade = 3,5

Author’s Cumulative Grade = A-

The author found the German press far too hard on Goretzka, who was playing without preferred German national team midfield partner Aleksandar Pavlovic on the double six. Add to that the fact that his true partner and “spirit brother” Joshua Kimmich plays as a right back for Germany and it’s no surprise that Goretzka had difficultly tracking back to defend and made a few hair-raising misplaced passes. Goretzka is simply a No. 8 with all his heart and soul. This shined through as he picked up an astounding total of seven shots and four assisted shots in the two matches 

If nothing else, the bland performances of the other midfield deployments (observed below) probably solidify Goretzka’s starting role for Germany. The now 31-year-old is far from finished. The Bochum native’s next club will definitely be lucky to have him, particularly seeing as how his attacking game appears to be at its sharpest in well over two years. He settled well into the second match against Ghana off the bench and nearly set up Lennart Karl late. 

Lennart Karl, FC Bayern München

Matches played = 1/2, Matches started = 0/2

Minutes played = 72/180, Positions played = RW, AM, ATTM

Cumulative German Press Grade = 2,75

Author’s Cumulative Grade = A-

Yes, Lennart Karl belongs to the “A-Level Winners Cohort”. No, the author doesn’t anticipate that the teenage phenom – despite all the praise – will make the World Cup squad. Actually, probably the only reason that Nagelsmann has to nominate the 18-year-old pertains to the fact that he’ll eventually grow taller. Losing his low center of gravity might adversely affect Karl’s dribbling ability. In any event, Karl let the dribbling ability shine with three long carries in the first match and two in the second. 

Karl assisted on three shots against Switzerland and had three pops himself against Ghana. The former Aschaffenburg standout is simply ruthless on the right-hand side. In the first half of the second fixture, it almost seemed as if Serge Gnabry was trying to emulate his junior club partner. Karl’s play can be infectious. Perhaps he will make the World Cup squad after all. Nagelsmann might take him to the States as some sort of diminutive “super joker”. Stranger things have happened. 

Nathaniel Brown, Eintracht Frankfurt

Matches played = 1/2, Matches started = 1/2

Minutes played = 61/180, Positions played = LB

Cumulative German Press Grade = 3,0

Author’s Cumulative Grade = B+

As be descent in the “B-Level” cohort, this Nürnberg-native seems an apt enough place to start. Brown actually did really well defensively and chose his passes with great care. The German-American fullback might have been just a tad too cautious on the forward link-up-play. There wasn’t much from the 22-year-old on the charge. When he did participate in attacking sorties, Brown seemed to always pass on the ground towards the center. As noted above, he’s not a real alternative to Raum just yet.

Jonathan Tah, FC Bayern München

Matches played = 2/2, Matches started = 2/2

Minutes played = 135/180, Positions played = CB

Cumulative German Press Grade = 3,0

Author’s Cumulative Grade = B

Fairly solid play from the famous “late bloomer” in both his deployments. The 30-year-old’s first national team goal (against Switzerland) should have belonged to Gnabry. Defensively, Tah was a sometimes weak in the duels during the first match. The Hamburg-native made up for it against Ghana, winning all four of his ground and aerial challenges. He initiated some great counterattacks and was (this time) unlucky not to score a goal himself in the second fixture. The supreme performance against Ghana came to a halt when he was rested for the second half. 

Antonio Rüdiger, Real Madrid

Matches played = 1/2, Matches started = 0/2

Minutes played = 45/180, Positions played = CB

Cumulative German Press Grade = 3,0

Author’s Cumulative Grade = B

How very nice to see Rüdiger back with the German national team! Nice apart from the fact that the author saw so little of him that he initially forgot he played the second half against Ghana. The Berlin-native remained largely anonymous during the second half in Stuttgart save for one semi-memorable tackle. It all makes sense in the context of a comeback from a long injury layoff. It might prove the case that the 33-year-old can reclaim his starting slot if Nico Schlotterbeck continues to tank.

Pascal Groß, Brighton & Hove Albion

Matches played = 2/2, Matches started = 1/2

Minutes played = 70/180, Positions played = CM

Cumulative German Press Grade = 3,5

Author’s Cumulative Grade = B-

One of Nagelsmann’s more interesting call-ups did well off bench in the first match, even registering the assist on Florian Wirtz’s game-winning goal. He mimicked Leon Goretzka well enough in his start against Ghana too, though the 34-year-old wasn’t anywhere near as effective as the Bayern man up front. The author actually found himself pleasantly surprised by how well the Mannheim-native managed in the double six. Frankly, however, the bar was fairly low. One failed to envision the elder statesmen discovering long-lost pace in the coming sultry American summer heat. 

Joshua Kimmich, FC Bayern München

Matches played = 2/2, Matches started = 2/2

Minutes played = 180/180, Positions played = RB

Cumulative German Press Grade = 2,75

Author’s Cumulative Grade = B-

The author feels that – as was the case with the Bayern “soul mate” Goretzka – Kimmich got scored wrong by the German press. Kimmich made an excellent tackle during the first half against Switzerland, but was largely lame and ineffective whilst instinctually drifting center. Having had some time to adjust to his assigned German national team role against Ghana, Kimmich was actually very involved in the early stages of the second game. Then Nagelsmann moved him into midfield and he didn’t look set again.

Alexander Nübel, VfB Stuttgart

Matches played = 1/2, Matches started = 1/2

Minutes played = 90/180, Positions played = GK

Cumulative German Press Grade = 3,0

Author’s Cumulative Grade = B-

Hmm. There really much of anything to say about Alexander Nübel’s deployment in the second match. The VfB Stuttgart professional didn’t have much to do and wasn’t truly at fault on the Ghanaian goal. The author doesn’t really recall any sort of save and Nübel wasn’t intrepid at all on his passes out of the back. He (like Kimmich) gave a decent post-match interview. We’ll accord the former Manuel Neuer heir some extra points for that. Perhaps Kimmich’s grade also received a bit of inflation for the same reason.

Oliver Baumann, TSG 1899 Hoffenheim

Matches played = 1/2, Matches started = 1/2

Minutes played = 90/180, Positions played = GK

Cumulative German Press Grade = 3,0

Author’s Cumulative Grade = C+

Might as well deal with both keepers as we slide down into “C-Level”. In all candor, the author didn’t really feel Baumann was culpable for any of the three Swiss goals. The fact that Germany’s presumed No. 1 heading into the World Cup made only one stellar save nevertheless doesn’t engender a great deal of confidence either. Despite the fact that the 33-year-old has only earned 11 senior level caps, Germans were fairly confident about heading into the tournament with Baumann in net. Now we’re nervous again. Damn. 

Leroy Sané, Galatasaray

Matches played = 2/2, Matches started = 1/2

Minutes played = 75/180, Positions played = RW

Cumulative German Press Grade = 4,5

Author’s Cumulative Grade = C

Diving straight into the controversy here, one should emphasize that Sané did set up the game-winning goal against Ghana. Moreover, his performance in the opening match wasn’t at all terrible. The 30-year-old simply couldn’t establish himself. Nagelsmann owed Sané another look after his influential performance for country back in November. He did look committed enough against Switzerland. It might be the case that a slight downtick costs him his starting role. The author found him to be serviceable enough.

Deniz Undav, VfB Stuttgart

Matches played = 1/2, Matches started = 0/2

Minutes played = 45/180, Positions played = 3,0

Cumulative German Press Grade = 3,0

Author’s Cumulative Grade = C

Another controversial subject next. Nagelsmann correctly pointed out that – absent the late winner set up by Sané – Undav didn’t make his presence felt at all. Nagelsmann begrudgingly took the 29-year-old along as it was impossible to deny him his chance due to his sparkling club form. Beyond whatever “power games” Nagelsmann and Undav, a lot of Undav’s national team absence relates to the fact that he’s a tactical chameleon. This serves as a huge strength for Stuttgart, but something of an albatross for Germany. It will naturally prove fascinating to see how Undav’s situation develops. 

Nick Woltemade, Newcastle United

Matches played = 2/2, Matches started = 1/2

Minutes played = 107/180, Positions played = LS

Cumulative German Press Grade = 3,5

Author’s Cumulative Grade = C

Nagelsmann has always taken care to stress that Woltemade was a temporary solution for Germany at the center forward position. There were actually some signs of his tactical role at Newcastle might have gotten in the way of his attacking play. The 24-year-old’s attacking play (in both matches) lacked precision and timing. Whenever working deeper and defending, however, he made some important interventions and blocks. Like his former Stuttgart teammate Undav, Woltemade’s tactical diversity may get in the way of him earning regular minutes for Germany.

Nico Schlotterbeck, Borussia Dortmund

Matches played = 2/2, Matches started = 2/2

Minutes played = 180/180, Positions played = CB

Cumulative German Press Grade = 4,5

Author’s Cumulative Grade = D+

As we slide into the “D-Level Losers Cohort”, Schlotti repeatedly miffed up defensively in the Switzerland match. Two of his passing errors in the first half resulted in Swiss goals. Visibly rattled, the Schlotterbeck was all over the map for the duration of the rest of the match and it came as a big surprise to not see him yanked by Nagelsmann late on. Playing the full 90 minutes against Ghana, the 26-year-old was still plenty wild in open play. At least Schlotterbeck made his mark on dead balls. 

Blame it on the highly publicized and unnecessarily prolonged contract talks if one must, but Schlotterbeck simply looked unfocused throughout the entire break. Borussia Dortmund themselves shoulder some of the blame for dismissing Schlotterbeck’s preferred negotiating partner last weekend. All of us witnessed a shockingly bad March break from a player supposedly on an irreversible upswing. Everything came crashing down here and one suddenly wonders if this professional’s starting role is in danger.

Yikes!

Angelo Stiller, VfB Stuttgart

Matches played = 2/2, Matches started = 2/2

Minutes played = 162/180, Positions played = CM

Cumulative German Press Grade = 3,75

Author’s Cumulative Grade = D+

Stiller unfortunately failed to make use of his late call up, taking a while to adjust to a more attack minded role in Nagelsmann’s XI. In part due to Schlotterbeck’s mistakes in the first match, the 24-year-old had real difficulty putting a foot right defensively. To his immense credit, Stiller recovered tremendously against Switzerland. Some of this threaded balls forward were of top quality. The Munich-native earned another look from Nagelsmann against Ghana. Now, one sees little to suggest that Nagelsmann will change his mind.

Regrettably, after a nicely lofted early lob in the opening five minutes, Stiller only committed mistakes throughout his second deployment. Though he did earn the handball penalty, the DFB attack never got into rhythm in large part due to his broken passes in midfield. An opportunity like this likely won’t come around very soon for this midfielder. Injuries to both Felix Nmecha and Aleksandar Pavlovic afforded Stiller his long sought after chance. Asking him to drum up the confidence so quickly proved too tall an order.

Josha Vagnoman, VfB Stuttgart

Matches played = 1/2, Matches started = 0/2

Minutes played = 29/180, Positions played = RB

Cumulative German Press Grade = 5,5

Author’s Cumulative Grade = D

No, this simply wasn’t a good international break for Stuttgart players. The days of Germany building on Stuttgart and Leverkusen axes (like in 2024) are now officially over. Vagnoman got his turn at seeing as to whether someone other than Joshua Kimmich can serve at right back. Like Nnamdi Collins and Ridle Baku before him, Vagnoman proved that Kimmich is remaining put. Vagnoman got murdered by fellow Hamburg native Derrick Köhn on the Ghanaian 1-1 in the second match. Nagelsmann called the 25-year-old out directly afterwards.

Game over.

Chris Führich, VfB Stuttgart

Matches played = 1/2, Matches started = 0/2

Minutes played = 29/180, Positions played = RB

Cumulative German Press Grade = 4,5

Author’s Cumulative Grade = D

No – we shall reiterate – this was not a good international break for Stuttgart players. The 28-year-old – in his first call up in two years – will mostly be remembered for forcing Schlotterbeck into a tactical foul during his substitute appearance against Ghana. Führich, Vagnoman, Nübel, Stiller, and (prior to the goal) Undav form a quartet of players who simply couldn’t get much going in front of the hometown crowd on Monday night. Anton Stach – after playing all of eight minutes against Switzerland – might enjoy better chances at getting World Cup playing time than all four. 

GGFN | Peter Weis