Julian Nagelsmann (l.) was on the sidelines for the first time as national coach against the USA.Image: dpa / Federico Gambarini
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Julian Nagelsmann was on the sidelines for the first time as national coach on Saturday evening. With the DFB team, the 36-year-old met the USA national team at the Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in Hartford, and in the end he celebrated a 3-1 win.
The trainer had to do without Joshua Kimmich. The Bayern professional had not been able to train for the last few days. On Saturday evening, the DFB announced that Kimmich would miss both the duel with the USA and the next game against Mexico due to a flu-like infection. He should therefore travel back to Germany on Saturday.
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Surprisingly, his place in the German starting eleven was not taken by FCB colleague Leon Goretzka, but by Pascal Groß from Brighton & Hove Albion. It was only his third international match. At the same time, the 32-year-old was not the only surprise in the German starting line-up.
Nagelsmann also trusted returnee Mats Hummels. Predecessor Hansi Flick had not nominated the Dortmund player once during his almost two-year term in office. The defender last played for the DFB team at the European Championships in summer 2021.
Otherwise, Nagelsmann’s first starting eleven read as expected. This also included the lineup of Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz. Both are similar types of players: agile, strong at dribbling and often found in the gaps. “They can work together because they are intelligent players,” said RTL expert Lothar Matthäus before the good news that they would not stand on each other’s feet despite having similar skills.
DFB team: Julian Nagelsmann’s outfit was once again an issue
The fans largely agreed with the record national player; on X, formerly Twitter, many expressed their anticipation of the duo. “I’m so excited for Wirtz X Musiala,” wrote one user. The two youngsters were not the only topic among the supporters. Of course, Nagelsmann was also under special observation during his debut as DFB coach.
National coach, that sounds “strange, unusual” even for him, he admitted before kick-off on “RTL”: “But it doesn’t sound that bad.” And it also looks good, as one user on
His choice of clothing is always a topic: Julian Nagelsmann.Image: dpa / Federico Gambarini
The top she chose was particularly striking. Because while the national coach’s predecessors almost always presented themselves with a jacket or simple shirts in a business look, the 36-year-old opted for the casual lumberjack shirt. Quite a fitting choice in Connecticut.
“It’s really special that the Federal Chancellor and the national coach were already sitting on the bench with a Canadian Holzfeller shirt,” wrote another X-User. For Nagelsmann, the focus on his outfits is nothing new. During his time in the Bundesliga, tweets and reports about his jackets and pants could have filled entire books.
DFB team: Julian Nagelsmann wants to see “Passion”.
However, his casual look before kick-off was not an issue at the “RTL” microphone. Instead, Nagelsmann explained that he had found his team “very good, very willing” in the few training sessions so far.
That’s exactly what’s most important in the test matches against the USA and Mexico: “Many things are new. The first thing is to fill this with a certain passion.” The result is therefore of secondary importance for the time being. If the attitude is right and playful approaches can be recognized. On the debut, the attitude was right – as was the result.