Nagelsmann threatens to derail Germany's World Cup campaign as he feuds with his best No.9

Tom Weber

• Updated: 31 Mar 2026 14:50 CDT
• 6 min read

Analysis

Julian Nagelsmann is currently facing widespread criticism in Germany for what appears to be a personal vendetta against VfB Stuttgart striker Deniz Undav.

Germany hosted Ghana on Monday in a friendly that proved to be quite illuminating for both teams. The Black Stars, coming off a 5-1 demolition at the hands of Austria, decided to sack head coach Otto Addo after also losing to the Germans - mere weeks before the start of the World Cup.

For the DFB team, it was also a valuable lesson. Their hard-fought 2-1 win proved once again, just like the crazy 4-3 triumph over Switzerland days earlier, that Nagelsmann's men are not yet anywhere near the peak of their powers. Yet the result on Monday was ultimately only secondary.

The main storyline of the fixture only really emerged once the final whistle had blown. The late winner on the day was scored by Stuttgart striker Deniz Undav, who came on as a substitute after the partisan crowd in his home stadium chanted his name throughout the game.

It was his fourth goal in seven appearances for his country and yet another poetic chapter in what has been quite a poetic career. After all, Undav was still playing in the German third tier as recently as 2020. However, Nagelsmann clearly has no time for fairytales.

Nagelsmann criticises Undav

Speaking to the press after the game, the Germany boss was visibly annoyed when asked about the striker. Instead of praising him - although he did call him a "top striker" - Nagelsmann used the opportunity to scold the 29-year-old.

"I didn't think his performance was good until the goal," the former Bayern boss said. "I believe he only touched the ball once before scoring. But that's also what makes him a top striker, this ability to be in the right spot at the right time. He did well with the goal.

"But I'm not sure he would have been able to make that same move had he been running around for 70 minutes beforehand. We'll play in 42 degrees in the summer, which can be exhausting for him. He did that move because he was fresh.

"We'll need some game-changers [off the bench] in the summer to decide games. We'll not always be able to decide games in the first 60 minutes. That's his task and his role. Enough has been said about this Deniz Undav saga that's been dragging on for 7 days now."

The "saga" Nagelsmann referred to was the demand from the media and the fanbase for Undav to finally become a starter. After all, he is easily the most reliable and most in-form striker in the Germany pool right now.

Kai Havertz and Nick Woltemade squandered their opportunities in front of the goal against Switzerland and Ghana, while Undav expertly converted the decisive chance he got. This is par for the course for the former Brighton forward.

Undav has scored 23 goals across all competitions at club level this season, while also providing 13 assists. He scored in six consecutive Bundesliga games before the break, and he signed off for international duty with a brace and an assist against Augsburg. It is, therefore, quite reasonable that people want to see him start for Germany.

Yet Nagelsmann appears to have his players that he trusts, despite insisting that he would create a meritocracy when he took the job. Leroy Sane, who has been in poor form, continues to be picked, and he was even booed by the fans when he came on against Ghana.

Undav feud could be Nagelsmann's undoing

Undav is clearly not one of Nagelsmann's guys, but why? Could it be because the Germany boss is simply fed up with the media circus? If that were the case, it would be quite unprofessional, as that's not really the player's fault.

It is also possible that something happened behind the scenes. Undav is known to be a bit of a joker, which is ironically exactly the role Nagelsmann has in mind for him (in German football terminology, "Joker" means super sub).

Given that he worked his way up from the amateur and semi-professional levels and only briefly spent time in Werder Bremen's academy, Undav isn't your typical boring, media-trained player. He wears his heart on his sleeve and can be quite blunt.

It is possible that he said something that rubbed Nagelsmann the wrong way. Even before the international break, it already seemed like something was afoot.

Shortly before the Germany squad was announced, Undav was asked by Sky Germany whether he would be included. He frankly admitted that he didn't know because Nagelsmann hadn't spoken to him.

"There is no contact, nope," Undav shrugged. "It's a shame that I always have to justify myself. I think I'm showing enough on the pitch. I believe I have the most goals [in the Germany pool], I have the second-most goal contributions in Europe. It's not my decision, Nagelsmann has to decide."

Ultimately, there is no way of knowing what exactly went down behind the scenes. Undav says that he accepts his role as super sub, but the whole thing could come back to bite Nagelsmann at the World Cup. Refusing to use your most effective striker is certainly a bold choice.

One thing this incident has hammered home is that Nagelsmann can be quite a poor communicator. Saying that Undav gets gassed easily is just plain wrong, considering that he generally plays the full 90 minutes for Stuttgart.

Before the break, Nagelsmann also gave a lengthy interview to Kicker in which he made some bizarre claims, like saying that Anton Stach, who has been amazing in midfield for Leeds, should be played as a defender, while in the same breath insisting that he is not a good ball-winner.

The Undav "saga" and his clumsy comments have seen Nagelsmann squander some of the goodwill he had with fans of the national team. He needs to be more considerate and careful going forward.

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