With tension around his battle with Julian Nagelsmann settling down, Jurgen Klopp has now had his say on the biggest debate in Germany.
Klopp’s caused plenty of headlines in his punditry work, but he’s had his thunder stolen by one Deniz Undav.
Undav has three goals and two assists in just 56 minutes of World Cup action, and his last match was particularly spectacular.
The Stuttgart striker came off the bench to rescue Germany against Ivory Coast, scoring both goals in a 2-1 comeback win over Ivory Coast.
The debate is now whether he should be starting over Kai Havertz up front, but Klopp isn’t sure.
“I can’t think of any reason why that should change,” the ex-Liverpool boss said.
“At some point, Deniz Undav will have the chance to prove to us that he can go 90, 95, or 120 minutes and still be fully alert.
“But at the moment, this is his role. And he’s doing a superb job.”
“It’s possible he’ll start against Ecuador. But it’s also possible Nick Woltemade will start. We’ll need him too.
“I believe that Undav will play, but more likely in Musiala’s place, in the position behind Havertz.”
Germans split on Undav role
Interestingly, not everyone agrees with Klopp.
Leading German sports outlet Sky conducted a poll of national team fans on whether Undav should start, and 65% of fans said yes compared to the 35% that said no.
As for the man that matters, Nagelsmann hasn’t ruled out an Undav start.
“This is absolutely fantastic for him right now,” he said after the win over Ivory Coast.
“You can’t get much more of a decision-maker at a World Cup than him.
“Of course, now the questions start again: ‘Will he ever start?’ It’s absolutely within the realm of possibility.”
Leave a Reply