Germany welcomes Northern Ireland to the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne on Sunday evening as Die Mannschaft will look to bounce back from a disastrous start to their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign.
Germany predicted lineup and team news vs Northern Ireland
Germany team news
Julian Nagelsmann faces a mounting injury crisis ahead of this crucial home fixture. Arsenal striker Kai Havertz has been ruled out with a knee injury that may require surgery, leaving a significant gap in Germany’s attacking options. West Ham striker Niclas Füllkrug is also unavailable due to muscular problems, which forced Nagelsmann to rely on young Stuttgart forward Nick Woltemade as his primary attacking threat against Slovakia. Maximilian Beier has replaced the injured Füllkrug.
Bayern Munich midfielder Jamal Musiala and Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen remain long-term absentees, while Leroy Sané has been surprisingly omitted from the squad entirely. The injury list compounds Germany’s recent poor form, having lost their last three matches including defeats to Portugal and France in the Nations League.
Nagelsmann has called up several newcomers to fill the gaps, with Augsburg goalkeeper Finn Dahmen, Eintracht Frankfurt defender Nnamdi Collins, and Mainz attacking midfielder Paul Nebel all receiving their first senior call-ups. The German coach is expected to deploy his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation with flexibility to switch to a 3-4-3 system during possession phases.
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Germany predicted lineup
Possible Germany starting XI: Baumann; Raum, Tah, Rüdiger, Anton; Pascal Gross , Kimmich; Gnabry, Wirtz, Adeyemi; Beier.
When will the match kick off?
The qualifier will begin at 7:45pm BST on Sunday.
How to watch Germany vs Northern Ireland?
UK viewers can watch on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website.
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