Official | Joshua Kimmich to miss Germany’s Luxembourg clash, Ridle Baku to receive big chance? | OneFootball

Germany will have to contest their forthcoming World Cup qualifying fixture against Luxembourg without captain Joshua Kimmich. The German FA confirmed Kimmich sustained a knock in training and will be unavailable for the crucial fixture. The news counts as highly significant ahead of a high stakes match. 

Head coach Julian Nagelsmann is already missing starting centre-back Nico Schlotterbeck. During the last international break, Kimmich once again reprised his role as Nagelsmann’s starting right back. Nagelsmann encountered serious problems during the September international break when he attempted to start young Eintracht Frankfurt prospect Nnamdi Collins at right back.

What are Nagelsmann’s options for the position?

Borussia Dortmund central defender Waldemar Anton has some experience as a right fullback, though the games during which former VfB Stuttgart head coach Bruno Labbadia decided to deploy him there happen to be ones Germans would rather forget. Switching either David Raum or Nathaniel Brown over to the right counts as a riskier idea, as does moving a flexible winger like Jamie Leweling or Karim Adeyemi back into defense. 

To the delight of many Germans, it looks to be the case that popular DFB-returnee Ridle Baku will receive a chance to establish himself at the position. Nagelsmann used Baku briefly during the September international break, albeit as an attacker higher up the flanks. The 27-year-old has started all ten league fixtures at right back thus far this season for RB Leipzig. 

The DFB opted to place both Baku and his Leipzig teammate in front of the cameras during a press event earlier this week. Raum and Baku once played together on Stefan Kuntz’s Germany U21 side that captured the 2021 UEFA U21 European Championship. Germany’s second World Cup qualifier of the current international break (against Slovakia) will take place at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig. 

“It’s a great feeling to be back with the German national team,” Baku remarked at the Tuesday press event. “It’s great that we trained in Wolfsburg [where Baku used to play] and will be headed to Leipzig later. Yesterday [in Wolfsburg], it was nice to see some familiar faces. I’m looking forward to making my contribution to the national team, even if I’m not playing.”

“David and I, have known each other since we played for in the U17 and U19 teams,” Baku said of his teammate at both club and country. “Since back when he was at Fürth and I was at Mainz. He’s made great strides as both a player and a person.“

GGFN | Peter Weis