2024-08-20 02:20:47
İlkay Gündoğan is no longer the captain of the national team. But who will lead the DFB team onto the field as captain at the 2026 World Cup?
The decision, a good three weeks before the upcoming Nations League matches against Hungary and the Netherlands, came as a bit of a surprise. İlkay Gündoğan is stepping down from his position as DFB captain – and is thus making a prominent position available.
The German national team needs a new captain – once again. Less than a year ago, former national coach Hansi Flick gave Gündoğan the job. He succeeded Manuel Neuer, who was injured at the time, but whose future in the national team currently seems more uncertain than ever.
But who will succeed Gündoğan, who as captain of the European Championship played in all games from the beginning, but was not always considered undisputed, especially before the start of the tournament?
The most obvious choice is certainly Joshua KimmichThe Bayern player took over the armband at the European Championships whenever Gündoğan left the field early. After the retirements of Thomas Müller and Toni Kroos, Kimmich is the player with the most international matches (91) after Manuel Neuer.
Under Nagelsmann, he was a regular right-back and played well at the European Championships. In a way, he would follow in the footsteps of Philipp Lahm, who led Germany to the World Cup title as right-back and captain in 2014.
However, it is considered extremely unlikely that Thomas Müller will take over the captaincy, as he himself could possibly announce his resignation in the coming days. The goalkeeper wants to explain himself as soon as possible, also because Nagelsmann will announce his squad for the Nations League games against Hungary (September 7, Düsseldorf) and the Netherlands (September 10, Amsterdam) next week.
Another option would be defence chief Antonio RudigerThe Champions League winner from Real Madrid threw himself into every tackle at the European Championship, controlled the DFB game from the back and also played dangerous long balls. The central defender is a loudspeaker, gives clear instructions – and, like Gündoğan, would be anchored in a central position on the pitch from which he can easily reach his teammates.