The German national team will face Luxembourg tomorrow in the penultimate qualifying match for the 2026 World Cup. DFB captain Joshua Kimmich will miss at least tomorrow’s game due to a capsule injury in his right ankle.
The resulting key questions at the DFB press conference on Thursday were accordingly: Who will replace Kimmich in his position, and who will lead Germany onto the field as captain?
Julian Nagelsmann provided the answers within the first few minutes of the press talk: “The decision on who will replace Jo Kimmich is very simple—Ridle Baku will take on this role. He plays every match for Leipzig and usually for the full ninety minutes. As for Schlotterbeck, we haven’t made a definite decision yet on who will replace him,” said the national coach.
The choice for the stand-in captain, on the other hand, fell to Jonathan Tah, as Nagelsmann confirmed: “Jona is part of the team council. Unfortunately, not many of them are available. Jona has earned it through his performances and also because of his position, as he has the game in front of him. He’s having a very good season at Bayern alongside Upa. He deserves to wear the captain’s armband tomorrow.”
Curiously, the chosen one apparently didn’t even know about his good fortune at that point: “I don’t know if he already knows—but now he does. I hope he doesn’t get nervous now, but I don’t think so,” said the national coach after arriving at the Stade de Luxembourg about Tah’s new role.
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