Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann has been tasked with building a new generation for the national team, one that will carry on the success of EURO 2024 to the 2026 FIFA World Cup and possibly EURO 2028. His first squad after the Euros was more or less the same squad he took to the tournament, with the only real changes being the absences of the retired Toni Kroos, İlkay Gündoğan, Thomas Müller, and Manuel Neuer. This time, however, he seems to be getting the transition ball rolling, with a couple of notable changes.
Most notably, Bayern Munich winger Serge Gnabry has returned to the national team after a long hiatus. Nagelsmann announced that his selection of Gnabry was the result of his successful comeback from injury and promising(?) start to the season.
“Serge had a tough year with a lot of injuries. He’s now managed to stabilize himself physically. Also from a performance point of view, he’s had many good games in pre-season and also during the start of the season in the Bundesliga and Champions League,” said Nagelsmann. “He’s not exactly a new face with the national team, but he’s not been with us for a long time and unfortunately missed the EUROs. We’re looking forward to having him back and being able to count on his qualities.”
Probably the biggest issue with this Germany squad was the goalkeeper position, with new No. 1 Marc-André ter Stegen dropped due to a severe knee injury. The callups of squad regulars Hoffenheim’s Oliver Baumann and Stuttgart/Bayern’s Alexander Nübel were expected, but the third name on the list was a surprise: Janis Blaswich of Red Bull Salzburg, formerly of RB Leipzig.
“Oli [Baumann] and Alex [Nübel] have already been with us and did well. Oli, in particular, had a great start to the season in the league and the Europa League,” said Nagelsmann. “He deserves to get game time and he will get that. I’m still not 100% sure how the distribution of game time will be, whether one will play two games or one game for each.”
Nagelsmann thus avoided commitment to one particular goalkeeper at the moment, but that is of course subject to change once the international break arrives.
As for his Blaswich pick, Nagelsmann said: “Janis is also there, he’s the starting goalkeeper for Salzburg and playing in the Champions League. He’s a good guy, we need someone who keeps the group together in that #3 role. There are of course other candidates who can convince with good performances in the coming weeks.”
Interestingly enough, Nagelsmann’s final immediate comments on the squad were not about any other players, not even about newcomer Tim Kleindienst of Borussia Mönchengladbach. Rather, they were about Borussia Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi, who Nagelsmann has not yet selected for the national team as of now. Adeyemi spent the last international break with the U-21 national team, but is currently injured.
“Karim Adeyemi got injured yesterday, but he’s been in great form and is certainly a candidate for us in the future. He’s currently a very important factor for the U21s in these important games. For us, he may not have had a starting role,” said Nagelsmann. “Of course the players want to play for the senior team, but presenting yourself through good performances with the U21 is also recommendable for every player.”
It is definitely too early to say whether Adeyemi has a decent shot at the national team, especially in light of his recent injury. That said, with the good form he has shown for Dortmund in recent months, there is no reason why Nagelsmann would not consider him should he keep said form up.
Germany will visit Bosnia-Herzegovina on the 11th of October, and play their return leg against the Netherlands three days later. The Netherlands game will be held at Bayern Munich’s own Allianz Arena.
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