Frankfurt, Germany (AP) – In favor of the 2026 World Cup problematic qualifying campaign, German manager Julian Nagelsmann is looking for players eligible to represent the United States.
Left-back Nathaniel “Nene” Brown was called from Germany for the target match against Luxembourg on October 10th and for the qualifying game against Northern Ireland on October 13th. Nagelsman called him a “great talent for defense.”
They are extremely important to Germany. Germany is third in the group after losing its opening game to Slovakia last month.
Commit to Germany
Although Brown, 22, is eligible for both countries, playing in Germany in competitive games for those over 20 will close the door to representing the US in the future.
Brown was born in Germany to an American father and a German mother and plays for Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga. He was an important part of the German Under 21 team, which lost the European Championship final to the UK in June.
Brown said he was previously contacted about his possibility of representing the United States, but is happy to remain in Germany.
“Of course,” he said in a video released by Frankfurt in July, “I had contact information, but I was born in Germany and played under the age of 21.”
There are no sanés and full crags
With Real Madrid’s Antonio Lie Digger injured, Nagelsmann relies on Borussia Dortmund’s defender Niko Schlotterbeck to put together his defense. Schlotterbeck has returned this month only from a layoff for a five-month injury.
“Even if we still missed out on a few players, I’m sure our team has the quality of doing better than we’ve done recently,” Nagelsmann said. “When Toni Rudiger comes out, it’s very important to get Nico Schlotterbeck back.”
Newcastle’s Nick Ultemed could become a first-choice striker after Nagelsmann dropped Niclas Füllkrug, who hasn’t scored in West Ham since April. Forward Leroy Sane misses again following his move to Turkish club Galatasaray, but also misses Dortmund midfielder Pascal Gross.
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AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
