"The roles are for the World Cup, not for March" – Nagelsmann unlikely to change tack on Undav role | OneFootball

Despite coming off the bench and scoring an 88th-minute winner in Germany's 2-1 triumph over Ghana, Julian Nagelsmann is not expected to give Deniz Undav a regular starting berth.

The German head coach said before the game that the roles have already been clearly given to the players and that he sees the VfB Stuttgart striker as someone who comes off the bench. 

When asked about this in his post-match interview, Undav was asked about that after the game and said: “If I keep scoring goals, maybe that [role] will change”. 

Nagelsmann was then asked if it's possible Undav's role would change, to which he said: “We'll see. But it's unlikely, because the roles are for the World Cup, not for March”. 

Undav's interview with SWR Fernsehen – a Baden-Württemberg TV channel – continued with the striker praising the German fans but stood up for his teammate Leroy Sané.

“I thank the fans for chanting my name [in the first-half while on the bench]. That made me happy. But hopefully next time they don't boo Leroy Sané. That was a pity.

"Leroy is part of the team, just like myself, every player and every staff member. Regardless of what a player does or how he is, we should support everyone,” the 29-year-old added.