Prediction: What Germany’s 2028 EURO squad could look like

With the World Cup just a matter of days away, Germany is starting to finalize its look for the June matches in North America. While Julian Nagelsmann, is closing in on his ideal XI, what might the national team look like in 2 full years at EURO 2028? Let’s take a look at a hypothetical starting XI for Germany at the EUROs in 2028.

Attack: Kai Havertz, Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala, Lennart Karl

This is arguably going to be the attack for the World Cup this summer, and there is no reason why it couldn’t continue after 2026. Wirtz and Musiala are the superstars of this team, and Karl will only continue to grow into a role with the national team over time.

The more contested spot will be striker where Havertz, Denis Undav, and Nick Woltemade will surely still be battling it out for a role in two years time. Havertz’s recent form gives reason for him to start in the future, however, if Woltemade secures a transfer to a team where he is better utilized, it would be hard to rule him out. In two years time, Undav will be 31 years old, and could easily play a major role as well.

Midfield: Aleksander Pavlović, Tom Bischof

While there are compelling arguments for players such as Felix Nmecha, Angelo Stiller, and the up-and-comer, Kennet Eichhorn, I predict a midfield of Aleksander Pavlović and Tom Bischof. Pavlović is an easy choice as he is the key midfielder in the current German squad at a young age, with a lot of years left in the tank.

While Nmecha is currently a contender for a starting spot in 2026, Tom Bischof might have other plans. The Bayern Munich talent is due for a much larger role with Bayern Munich next season, and with the talent he has already shown, it is certainly not unthinkable that he could bunny-hop over other players such as Nmecha or Stiller to play a key role at the Euros in 2 years time.

While it is unlikely, it would be really interesting to see Eichhorn take this spot in two years time.

Defense: Nathaniel Brown, Nico Schlotterbeck, Finn Jeltsch, Joshua Kimmich

This was incredibly difficult to predict. Nathaniel Brown and Nico Schlotterbeck felt like easy picks based on their current roles with the squad and many years left to come, they will likely be mainstays for the national team for the foreseeable future. However, the RCB and RB positions aren’t so clear.

Will Jonathan Tah be surpassed by a younger centre-back? Will Kimmich still be playing for Germany, and will he still be played at right-back? Both are plausible, but I will predict that Finn Jeltsch will overtake Jonathan Tah as the right centre-back in 2028, and the years to come. Honorable mentions made to David Raum, Karim Coulibaly, and Malick Thiaw.

This is perhaps the most easy position to predict. After the World Cup this summer, Manuel Neuer will amost certainly retire from the national team once again. Besides Neuer, Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Oliver Baumann are getting older and it is the perfect time to hand off the torch to the next generation.

Urbig is already getting looks from Nagelsmann and it seems like a matter of time before it is Urbig’s position. Noah Atubolu would be a more than capable choice, but Nagelsmann seems to prefer Urbig at the moment.

While Germany are poised to compete this summer, the squad is extremely young and the team is perhaps better poised for a title run in 2028 with Musiala and Wirtz entering their prime, several older veterans still in the later years of their prime, and young players hitting early strides in their careers.

If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…

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