It wasn’t a great World Cup for Germany. Okay, Julian Nagelsmann’s team escaped the group stage, an improvement on their efforts in 2018 and 2022, but they crashed out in the Round of 32 in the extended format…so not much of an improvement.
The USA tour was a flop for German football fans who can now look forward to the upcoming Bundesliga campaign, and there are plenty of players operating in the German top flight who will be happy how they performed over in Canada, Mexico and the USA. So here is the SBOTOP pick of five stars who will go back to work with their heads held high.
Dayot Upamecano: Bayern Munich and France
While France won plaudits for their glittering array of attacking talent, they also had a top-class defence. Bayern defender Upamecano was partnered with Arsenal’s William Saliba for much of the tournament to form on of the best central defensive pairs in the competition, with Jules Kounde and Lucas Digne on the flanks. The 27-year-old Upamecano put in a run of assured performances using his speed and positional sense to snuff out opposition attacks, as Les Bleus kept four clean sheets and conceded just two goals in their fist six games, before falling to Spain in the semi-final.
Didier Deschamps rested Upamecano for the Third Place Play-off goal-fest against England; bringing him on at the half-time break with the score at 4-0 to the Three Lions. And, as well as partially stemming the flow of goals the Bayern man teed up Ousmane Dembele for France’s fourth in a 6-4 defeat. The Bundesliga 2026 betting odds say Bayern are the team to beat again this year and Upamecano’s improvement over the past two seasons is a big contributor.
Denis Undav: VfB Stuttgart and Germany
There wasn’t much for Germany fans to cheer at the World Cup, but Stuttgart hitman Undav can be happy with his return of three goals from one start and three substitute appearances.
He started on the bench against Curacao but with quarter of the game to work with he made two assists and scored a goal. He came off the bench again, this time against the Ivory Coast to rescue Germany with two late goals; and among the criticisms levelled at manager Julian Nagelsmann was the question as to why Undav was used so sparingly. He has enjoyed two superb campaigns in Stuttgart, scoring 28 goals in 56 games and finishing second top scorer in the league last term.
Gregor Kobel: Borussia Dortmund and Switzerland
He’s had to bide his time while Yann Sommer kept the gloves for Switzerland 94 times but, now 28 years of age Borussia keeper Kobel has made the number one position his own and has 27 caps to his name. The 6ft 5in stopper commands his area and makes use of his reach and powerful frame to pull off spectacular saves, and the Swiss conceded just three goals in five games until they lost their quarter-final clash against ultimate finalists Argentina. The Switzerland goalkeeping position is Kobel’s to lose now, and he will be a force for BVB again this term.
Antonio Nusa: Red Bull Leipzig and Norway
At 21 years of age winger Nusa became the youngest Norwegian player ever to score in the World Cup finals and it was an unforgettable moment as it came in his country’s first knockout win, a 2-1 victory over the Ivory Coast. Midfield ace Marin Odegaard picked out Nusa on the left side of the penalty area and he did the rest, shifting the ball onto his right foot before curling an unstoppable shot into the top right corner. At the end of a superb campaign the Vikings bowed out at the quarter-final stage in a 2-1 defeat to England, and the whole of the Norway team can be proud of their achievement; and Nusa can look forward to serving up some pretty special Bundesliga 2026 highlights for Red Bull in the coming months.
Malik Tilman: Bayer Leverkusen and USA
The hosts made it through to the Round of 16 and that is about as far as most neutrals expected, but it was a good competition for Leverkusen star Tilman.
The 24-year-old attacking midfielder made an assist in the opening win over Paraguay and, as a key player in Mauricio Pochettino’s team, he was rested in the Stars and Stripes’ final group game against Turkey. He then scored the crucial second as USA beat Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32 and was the man on target again when they bowed out against Belgium in the last 16. Tilman’s strong running and attacking philosophy got the hosts’ fans off their feet and he’s in good shape to star for Die Werkself in 2026/27.
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