Nagelsmann: Match against Bosnia 'an opportunity for newcomers'

Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann doesn't want to complain about the long list of injured players ahead of the Nations League match against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Friday.

Instead, the coach wants to see the situation as "an opportunity for the regulars, the newcomers, and those who have played less recently," he said in a news conference on Thursday.

Nagelsmann told the players who are called into action to "fully commit to the game in terms of character, throw everything into it and win in the end."

Benjamin Henrichs, David Raum, Jamal Musiala, Kai Havertz and Robin Koch were forced to withdrawn at short notice, while goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen and striker Niclas Füllkrug weren't even named to the squad this time.

"We don't yet know how it will actually affect us," Nagelsmann said of the long list of absent players.

Ter Stegen was named Germany's number one after Manuel Neuer retired following this summer's Euro 2024. But he suffered a serious knee injury with his Barcelona team and is only expected to return next summer.

Against Bosnia, VfB Stuttgart goalkeeper Alexander Nübel will make his debut for the national team, while Hoffenheim's Oliver Baumann will get his first-ever Germany game against the Netherlands on Monday.

“In sporting terms, it's the highlight for now, a huge thing for me,” Nübel said.

Nagelsmann, however, is yet to decide who will start up front, replacing Füllkrug. He will choose between Mainz's Jonathan Burkardt or Borussia Mönchengladbach's Tim Kleindienst. For both it would be a first time playing for Germany.

“One of the two will start,” Nagelsmann said. Kleindienst said that the team had to “take the game into their own hands” and that he was “convinced that we have the quality to beat Bosnia in any case.”