What is Nagelsmann plotting? These World Cup moves could catch us off guard | OneFootball

Rarely have statements from a national coach caused such a stir! Although the next international break is still several weeks away, football Germany has been talking almost exclusively about Julian Nagelsmann's big 'kicker' interview for days.

In it, the 38-year-old announced some unpopular measures regarding the World Cup squad. "There will be decisions, I can already reveal, that probably won't be met with great understanding," said Nagelsmann. "Not from the players, but also not from the general public, because perhaps a player isn't planned for our starting eleven, even though he is a regular and key player at his club."

It was one of many statements from the national coach that caused great astonishment among fans and the media. Critics even accuse Nagelsmann of his statements about the performance principle, made at the beginning of his tenure, being nothing but hot air. 

But which players could the national coach have been specifically talking about? Which DFB stars are performing well at their clubs but have a tough time under Nagelsmann? 100 days before the World Cup, we look at four possible candidates who might be missing this summer.

Angelo Stiller (VfB Stuttgart)

This description fits Angelo Stiller almost perfectly. Once again, the 24-year-old is having a great season, acting as the thinker and leader at VfB Stuttgart – a team on course for the Champions League in the Bundesliga and still represented in both cup competitions.

However, Stiller is not exactly one of Nagelsmann's favorites. During the international break last November, the left-footer was surprisingly not even part of the squad. Additionally, the national coach gave Leon Goretzka a quasi-guarantee for a starting position in the 'kicker' interview. Aleksandar Pavlovic and Felix Nmecha are expected to compete for the second spot in central midfield.

Even if Stiller is allowed to travel to North America, he faces a tournament at the far end of the bench. It is also quite possible that he won't be invited at all.

Anton Stach (Leeds United)

The same fate could befall Anton Stach. Despite a strong Premier League season, Nagelsmann gave the Leeds United midfielder a mixed review. 

"He is not particularly strong in the air and not the best at winning the ball. Moreover, he prefers to have the game in front of him," explained Nagelsmann. Therefore, the 25-year-old impressed him most as a central defender in a back three during his time at Hoffenheim.

However, such a role is not found in the DFB system. The extremely popular Stach in England could also fall through the cracks and spend the coming summer on his home sofa.

Said El Mala (1. FC Köln)

Nagelsmann's assessment of perhaps the biggest climber of the current Bundesliga season is causing a lot of discussion. For Said El Mala, things could get quite tight.

"He simply needs more playing time in Cologne," demanded the national coach, directing these words not to Effzeh coach Lukas Kwasniok, but to El Mala himself. "Said must have the ambition to be a regular player in Cologne and always play. But he plays 50 percent, which is too little."

Since this situation is unlikely to change much in the coming weeks, the 19-year-old's World Cup chances are probably not very good. Will the German team have to do without El Mala's joker qualities in North America?

Jonathan Burkardt (Eintracht Frankfurt)

Although he has been scoring consistently for a year and a half, Jonathan Burkardt's DFB career reads extremely mixed. The striker has only 106 minutes of play in five games.

After a mixed starting appearance against Italy last March, Burkardt visibly lost standing under Nagelsmann. Despite an outstanding start to the season at Eintracht Frankfurt, the 25-year-old found himself exclusively on the bench during recent international matches.

His subsequent injury and recent comeback do not help. Thus, the World Cup train for Burkardt may have almost left the station – even though he is directly involved in a goal every 100 minutes on average this season.

Are there other players who could fall victim to the surprises announced by Nagelsmann? What do you think? Write to us in the comments!

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

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