GERMANY

It is a pity there are not two Joshua Kimmichs: one for central midfield, one for defence. Then the endless debate about which position he is more suited to could be avoided. For Bayern’s manager, Vincent Kompany, he is the first-choice No 6. Under Julian Nagelsmann he was first at right-back, then briefly returned to midfield, and now is meant to do everything at once as a defensive playmaker. In build-up play, he moves from right back into the centre, which can be risky if he loses the ball. Luckily enough, he does not lose the ball that often. Recently moved past Jürgen Kohler and into the top 10 of Germany players with most appearances. With Bayern he has won the Champions League and 10 Bundesliga titles, but nothing yet with the national team. After the group-stage exit in Qatar, he spoke with tears in his eyes of the most difficult day of his career: “I’m a bit afraid of falling into a hole.” He has certainly worked his way out of it and, as captain, main motivator and “shirt-tucked-in” advocate, enjoys great respect in Germany.

At 17, he scored in the Champions League and, at 19, was one of few Germany players to come out of the World Cup with his reputation intact, or even improved. The three goals he scored at Euro 2024 made him an international star. But then, at the 2025 Club World Cup, it all came to a shuddering halt with a gruesome injury suffered in a collision with Gianluigi Donnarumma. He was out for six months as Germany qualified for the World Cup and Bayern got off to a near-perfect start. He is not quite the same player he was before the injury but started and played well in the incredible 4-5 Champions League defeat at Paris Saint-Germain in April. To protect him, Nagelsmann left Musiala out of the friendlies in March amid some uncertainty over whether he should go to the World Cup. “If I feel that something isn’t right in my game,” says Oliver Kahn, “then I have to work on myself until I’m ready again.” Musiala, who earns more at Bayern than the England captain Harry Kane, must be careful not to be overtaken by the likes of Lennart Karl, who is five years younger.

In Germany, Wirtz is known as the player who made Bayer Leverkusen’s miraculous league and cup double in 2024 possible, ending Bayern Munich’s long-standing dominance. He has also shone for Germany, including a sensational performance in the 4-3 victory against Switzerland in March, but his major breakthrough is yet to come. Has had an up-and-down first season at Anfield after his £100m transfer last summer with his manager Arne Slot saying things will only get better. “Full credit to Wirtz on the pitch and the gym, putting in the work,” the Dutchman says. “If someone is struggling physically at the start, you have to keep them in to improve and he was an example of that.” When his pre‑Euro 2024 ranking of potato dishes on the German football federation’s TikTok account went viral (he put a “normal” potato at No 1 to much public amusement), he responded: “I don’t find it entertaining at all.” At the World Cup it still remains to be seen whether he will be given the central role his talent warrants.

Born in Hamburg, raised in England, and developed at Manchester City, that is Nmecha’s back story. But despite that, and English being his first language, the German FA secured his international future early, along with that of his brother Lukas. Felix recently extended his contract at Dortmund and is expected to be one of the pillars of the club’s future. He has developed into one of the most physically dominant central midfielders in the league, combining that with good technique and a good shot. Nmecha is happy to talk about his religion and has said that “Jesus is my everything”. Three years ago he liked and shared transphobic and homophobic content on social media, which led some Dortmund fans protesting about him joining the club. Nmecha claimed that “some things had been taking out of context” and added: "l'm a Christian and I love all people. I also do not discriminate. I hope all the fans will give me a chance to get to know me and hopefully see that I am a great person."

Undav was by far the most clinical German striker this season but, for some reason, Nagelsmann does not seem to rate him. He scored the winning goal in the March friendly against Ghana but afterwards the coach offered no praise, rather a critical backhand. “He wasn’t very involved in the game, had no actions before [the goal],” Nagelsmann said. “I didn’t think his performance was good.” The coach’s comments may have stemmed from Undav saying before the game that he felt he should start rather than just being a substitute, a task Nagelsmann had assigned him in the now infamous “role talks”. Nagelsmann was not entirely wrong, but saying it publicly was unusual. Someone has to put the ball in the net and, in a team without many natural finishers, Undav – a modern-day Gerd Müller – is an exception.