Inside Germany's World Cup roster 2026: Jamal Musiala leads final squad list announced by Julian Nagelsmann

Germany will head into the 2026 World Cup as one of the favourites for the trophy, although recent tournaments mean expectation levels are not as high as they once were.

After consecutive group-stage exits in Russia and Qatar, and with their world ranking having slipped to 10th, Julian Nagelsmann and his players will have something of a point to prove when they begin their campaign in Houston, Texas on June 14.

There is certainly plenty of talent at the coach's disposal, and their roster will look on paper like one of the strongest at the tournament when it is confirmed on May 12.

The Sporting News has all the key details on Germany's World Cup squad below.

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Germany World Cup roster 2026

Nagelsmann will name his final squad on May 21. He had planned on an announcement the week before but decided to delay it until the Bundesliga season had concluded.

Teams had until Monday, May 11 to submit to FIFA an official preliminary list of 35-55 players, from which they are required to name a final roster by Saturday, May 30.

The final list of players will be updated below once the announcement is made. Caps and stats are correct as of May 20.

Germany injuries ahead of World Cup

Two of Germany's big concerns earlier in the season were injuries to Jamal Musiala and Kai Havertz. Musiala sustained a broken leg and dislocated ankle last July at the Club World Cup, while Havertz has missed several weeks throughout the campaign with knee and muscle problems. Both will hope that the worst of those issues are now behind them.

However, Serge Gnabry is ruled out due to injury. The Bayern Munich forward tore an adductor muscle in the Champions League quarterfinal second leg against Real Madrid, and he posted to social media to say his World Cup dream was "sadly over" as a result.

Bayern Munich youngster Lennart Karl tore a thigh muscle in early April, but he is expected to be fully fit.

Germany players to watch at World Cup

Musiala has been the poster-boy for Germany over the past couple of years, but after missing around six months due to injury, he has played more of a bit-part role for Bayern in the second half of 2025/26. Still, Nagelsmann values him highly and will likely shape the attack around the 23-year-old.

Florian Wirtz had a difficult first season at Liverpool but is always one to watch when playing for his national team. He scored twice in the 4-3 win over Switzerland in March.

Joshua Kimmich has excelled in Bayern's midfield this term but will most likely be used at right-back at the World Cup, with teammate Leon Goretzka and Stuttgart's highly rated Angelo Stiller favoured in the middle.

MORE: All you need to know about Germany's schedule at the 2026 World Cup

Who is Germany coach at the World Cup?

Nagelsmann has been in charge of Germany since September 2023, when he replaced Hansi Flick. At the age of 36, he became the second-youngest head coach in the national team's history.

A proponent of gegenpressing — a possession-focused approach that requires a demanding high press to regain the ball high up the pitch — Nagelsmann won praise for the attacking football of his Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig teams. He won the Bundesliga with Bayern in 2021/22 but was sacked in March 2023 for what the club CEO Oliver Kahn described as "big fluctuations in performance" that "cast doubt on our goals for this season".

Benjamin Gluck, Nagelsmann's long-time right-hand man and analyst, and Benjamin Huber, who began working with him at Hoffenheim, are the head coach's assistants, alongside experienced Dutch coach Alfred Schreuder, who succeeded Nagelsmann at Hoffenheim and has worked as an No. 2 with Erik ten Hag at Ajax and Ronald Koeman at Barcelona.

Can Germany replace players on World Cup roster?

Once the final roster is official, participating teams at the World Cup could only make changes before the first game of the tournament, and only in the case of extraordinary circumstances.

According to the official tournament rules (page 32), "a player listed on the final list may only be replaced in the event of serious injury or illness up until 24 hours before the start of his team's first match."

Germany World Cup history

Germany have won the World Cup four times, a tally bettered only by Brazil (five). They were crowned world champions in 1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014 and were runners-up in 1966, 1982, 1986 and 2002.

As West Germany and Germany, they have qualified for every World Cup since 1954

However, after group-stage exits in both 2018 and 2022, Nagelsmann and his players are under pressure to deliver in North America, particularly after their Euro 2024 campaign on home soil ended at the quarterfinal stage with defeat to Spain.

• Current FIFA World Ranking: 10 (April 2026)
• World Cup titles: 4
• World Cup appearances (last): 20 (Qatar 2022)
• How Germany qualified, W-L-D: UEFA Group A winners, 5-1-0
• World Cup record:
  • Games: 112 GP (68 W, 21 D, 23 L)
  • Goal differential: +102 (232 GS, 130 GA)

Germany World Cup schedule

Germany, as a Pot 1 team, were drawn into Group E. Their competitors in the group will be Ecuador, Curacao and Ivory Coast.

Germany and Group E match schedule

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