It is becoming increasingly unlikely that central defender Nico Schlotterbeck will feature in the German national football team’s next World Cup qualifier in Luxembourg next Friday. The Borussia Dortmund defender has not yet been able to train with the German team in Wolfsburg due to a leg injury. The German Football Federation (DFB) said the 25-year-old’s condition had improved significantly, but he was still unable to practice on the pitch two days before the match.
During team training on the auxiliary field at AOK Stadium, Julian Nagelsmann relied on the team’s remaining 20 field players and four goalkeepers. The German national team coach had scheduled the penultimate training session before the team’s departure for Luxembourg without spectators.
Nagelsmann had planned to include Schlotterbeck in his starting eleven for the penultimate game of the group stage in the run-up to the 2026 World Cup. However, the Dortmund player suffered a blow to his foot in last Saturday’s Bundesliga match against Hamburg, which required stitches.
The center originally gave the green light to attend Sunday’s NFL game between the Indianapolis Colts and Atlanta Falcons in Berlin as a fan. However, after the trip to Wolfsburg, Nagelsmann was pessimistic.
Coach Nagelsmann’s team is almost complete
Schlotterbeck’s injury “swelled up quite a bit overnight,” the manager said earlier in the week. “I’ve only seen one picture of his feet, and to be honest, they don’t look good,” the 38-year-old added. Schlotterbeck is being treated by DFB doctors and is only able to perform gentle, non-forceful exercises. The manager has so far refrained from calling up substitutes, including Eintracht Frankfurt’s Robin Koch.
If Schlotterbeck is absent, Borussia Dortmund teammate Valdemar Anton is likely to start alongside Bayern defender Jonathan Tarr against Luxembourg. Nagelsmann has also added Malik Thiaw from Newcastle United to his team as a third centre-back. The 24-year-old last played for Germany’s national team just over two years ago.
After the game against group-bottom Luxembourg, the German team concludes its qualifying campaign on Monday against Slovakia in Leipzig. Slovakia will qualify for the World Cup if they win two games, but they will be a difficult opponent to beat. In the last match, held in Bratislava on September 4, the Slovak team won 2-0, making it difficult for Germany to qualify for the World Cup.
(dpa, kicker/el)
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