Deniz Undav has produced three goals and two assists in 69 minutes at the World Cup and still hasn’t started for Germany. Ahead of the group finale against Ecuador, coach Julian Nagelsmann said he plans only forced changes, while Undav insisted he’s “happy” wi
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The math is hard to ignore. Deniz Undav has scored three goals and recorded two assists in 69 minutes at the World Cup. By his own production rate, he’s offered a goal contribution every 13.8 minutes.
And yet, as Germany heads toward the group stage finale against Ecuador on Wednesday, the 29-year-old striker is still waiting for his first true place in the starting lineup.
“If I weren’t happy, if I wasn’t content, I wouldn’t be here,” Undav said during a news conference ahead of the match. “I accept the role.”
Germany has already clinched Group E and will open the knockout phase against a third-place team. possibly Paraguay or Australia. on Monday at Foxborough. Massachusetts. The stakes inside the match are different from the stakes on the calendar. Germany is seeking its 12th straight victory — a mark that would tie the team record set in 1979-80.
Ecuador, by contrast, is on the edge. The team has one point and likely needs a victory to have a chance to reach the knockout rounds.
Coach Julian Nagelsmann said he planned only forced lineup changes. Defender Nico Schlotterbeck will miss the rest of the tournament after tearing a left ankle ligament against Ivory Coast on Saturday. and left back Nathaniel Brown is out because of an adductor problem. Nagelsmann said Antonio Rüdiger and David Raum are likely to take their places.
“We want to prepare ourselves for the knockout phase,” Nagelsmann said. “We all say that Deniz really would deserve to be in the starting lineup but we have an idea and we talked about it with Deniz and other players and tomorrow we will do the rotations that are necessary.”
That includes an uncomfortable contradiction for a player who has forced the conversation anyway.
Undav. arriving late to top-level football. has built his momentum through career stops in Germany’s lower tiers — Havelse. Braunschweig and Meppen from 2017-20 — before joining Union Saint-Gilloise in Belgium’s second tier and helping the club win promotion. He debuted for Brighton in England’s Premier League in 2022-23 and moved to Stuttgart for 2023-24.
Coming off his third season with Stuttgart, Undav was second in the Bundesliga with 19 goals last season, trailing only Harry Kane’s 36. He made his Germany debut in March 2024, and has nine goals in 11 international appearances, with only three of them coming as starts.
He arrived in this World Cup in a way that keeps pushing the question of why the bench is still where he’s listed. Undav entered in the 64th minute of Germany’s opening 7-1 win over Curaçao. scoring a goal and adding two assists. Against Ivory Coast. he came on in the 60th minute and scored twice as Die Mannschaft rallied for a 2-1 victory.
This pattern has tested more than Nagelsmann’s decisions. The coach apologized this spring for comments he made after Undav entered at the start of the second half in a March friendly against Ghana and scored a tiebreaking 88th-minute goal. Nagelsmann had said Undav didn’t have the necessary stamina to be a starter and scored because his legs were fresh.
Undav did not dispute the reality of what he brings — he just framed it differently.
“Whether I’m in the starting lineup or later, it doesn’t matter,” he said, seated next to his coach. “It’s important that the team wins. And I joined from the bench twice and we won the game. I’m very happy about that.”
The rest of Germany’s World Cup plan looks steady, even as its forward rotation doesn’t. Nagelsmann said he also plans to keep 40-year-old goalkeeper Manuel Neuer in goal. Neuer returned to the national team for the World Cup after a two-year absence, displacing Oliver Baumann. Nagelsmann said goalkeeper coach Andreas Kronenberg spoke with Baumann about the decision.
“Oliver really understood,” Nagelsmann said. “I understand completely from the human side and if we only approached it that way it would be obvious, but we have to look at the large picture. It’s not always pleasant to make these decisions but those decisions have to be made.”
Even outside the tactics, Undav has become a symbol. Adidas ran out of the letter V for a short time because of the popularity among fans wanting jerseys of Undaz, Kai Havertz and Aleksandar Pavlovic. Supply has since been restocked.
“My friends, my family already have a jersey. I really didn’t have to order anything new,” Undav said. “I’m very honored by it.”
Ecuador’s situation has its own pressure, and it’s not only about points on a table.
Ecuador entered the tournament with a 19-game unbeaten streak before stumbling in its opener. giving up a 90th-minute goal in a 1-0 loss to Ivory Coast. John Yeboah and Alan Minda hit the crossbar in the first half against the Elephants. and Ecuador outshot Curaçao 28-10 in a 0-0 draw. stymied by Eloy Room’s 15 saves.
Ecuador coach Sebastián Beccacece said he believes there is a path left.
“I am convinced that we have a chance to meet our goals,” Beccacece said. “We’ll have the taste of happiness if we win and the taste of sorrow if we don’t and that’s life for you.”
After Saturday’s game at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, Beccacece also described something that has nothing to do with match strategy. He said his family was confronted by an angry supporter.
“I talked to my wife, my daughters. They told me what happened. I haven’t seen it,” he said. “The first thing I asked was whether anything serious had happened. They said no. Nothing. And at the end of the day. I interpret this as a fan feeling hurt because of the results and then a daughter defending her father. I think anyone should be able to express themselves without reaching this level of confrontation.”.
Germany’s camp is preparing for the next stage of the tournament with a mix of optimism and hard choices. Ecuador is trying to keep its tournament alive. In between them sits Undav, producing whenever he’s inserted — and still being asked to wait.
Deniz Undav Germany Ecuador World Cup Julian Nagelsmann Manuel Neuer Nico Schlotterbeck Nathaniel Brown Antonio Rüdiger David Raum Arrowhead Stadium Sebastián Beccacece