Julian Nagelsmann is ready to lead Germany at the World Cup for the first time. Nagelsmann led Germany to the quarter-finals at the 2024 Euros, losing to the eventual champions, Spain, in that match. Germany will look to make another deep run at this upcoming World Cup. Since winning the 2014 World Cup, Germany has not made it out of the group stage at the last two World Cups. That is unacceptable for a nation with such a historic footballing tradition. Julian Nagelsmann and this squad will hope to renew that success at this World Cup.

The 2026 Germany World Cup squad has a chance to make a deep run in this tournament. Here are the 26 players that Julian Nagelsmann has selected for the 2026 World Cup in North America.

Full Squad

Goalkeepers (3): Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Alexander Nubel (Bayern Munich), Oliver Baumann (Hoffenheim)

Defenders (9): Waldemar Anton (Borussia Dortmund), Nathaniel Brown (Eintracht Frankfurt), Pascal Gross (Brighton), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), David Raum (RB Leipzig), Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid), Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund), Jonathan Tah (Bayern Munich), Malick Thiaw (Newcastle), Josha Vagnoman (Stuttgart)

Midfielders (7): Leon Goretzka (Bayern Munich), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Aleksander Pavlovic (Bayern Munich), Angelo Stiller (Stuttgart), Jamie Leweling (Stuttgart), Nadiem Amiri (Mainz), Felix Nmecha (Borussia Dortmund)

Attackers (7): Kai Havertz (Arsenal), Deniz Undav (Stuttgart), Nick Woltemade (Newcastle), Florian Wirtz (Liverpool), Leroy Sane (Galatasaray), Lennart Karl (Bayern Munich), Maximilian Beier (Borussia Dortmund)

Analysis

Key Players

The biggest shock of this World Cup roster announcement, or at least it was the biggest shock when it leaked a couple of weeks ago, is the return of Manuel Neuer to the national team. The Bayern Munich goalkeeper is a footballing legend and led Germany to a World Cup title in 2014. However, he had announced after Euro 2024 that he was retiring from international football. That had the world thinking Hoffenheim’s Oliver Baumann was set to be the goalkeeper for Germany at the 2026 World Cup. However, Julian Nagelsmann decided that he wanted Neuer back and convinced him to play one more major international tournament.

In addition to Neuer, Jamal Musiala is ramping back up from injury for this World Cup. He has barely played for Bayern Munich this season due to injury, but is hoping to be at 100% for the World Cup. Germany is captained by Joshua Kimmich of Bayern Munich. Some of their other top players include Antonio Rudiger, Aleksander Pavlovic, Kai Havertz, Florian Wirtz and Nick Woltemade. That trio of attacking players from the Premier League, Wirtz, Woltemade and Havertz, all didn’t have their best club campaigns but will hope to step up for the national team.

Key Omissions

Niclas Fullkrug and Chris Fuhrich are two surprise omissions. Fullkrug has struggled with form between a bad loan move to AC Milan and his struggles at West Ham. However, his experience scoring goals for the national team was thought to give him a chance to get into this squad. Meanwhile, Fuhrich had a great season at Stuttgart. Unfortunately, there were too many talented wingers for Fuhrich to climb over to get a spot on this team.

Robert Andrich is a player who was thought to be a solid pick for this team. He is a massive character, plays hard and was thought to be a useful player that Nagelsmann could bring with him. Andrich can play in midfield, at center-back, and basically anywhere you need him. He has a relentless motor and will never have his effort questioned. That could be the type of player Germany is missing in this tournament.

The final major omission is Serge Gnabry, although it did not come as a surprise. Gnabry suffered a serious injury in training a few weeks ago that was going to keep him out for this tournament. While it’s not surprising that he won’t be playing, he will be massively missed by Germany. Gnabry has 26 goals for Germany over his career, the most of any active player on the national team.

Germany World Cup 2026 Odds

Germany is +800 to win the World Cup and -310 to win Group E. Germany’s group also features Ecuador, the Ivory Coast and Curacao.