With several Bayern stars on the roster, the German national team is currently competing in the 2026 World Cup. On the first matchday, they defeated Curaçao 7–1, but the game against Ivory Coast was much closer. Captain Joshua Kimmich still had plenty of praise, though.
Because sometimes those are exactly the games you have to win—games where it gets tough, where not everything goes according to plan. Saturday night’s match in Toronto was definitely one of those games.
After the embarrassing defeats in 2018 and 2022, the DFB squad has now advanced to the knockout stage early on and has even secured first place in the group. Perhaps that’s precisely why it’s a good thing that not everything went smoothly against the Ivorians.
Kimmich Praises the DFB’s Substitutes
Kimmich, who frequently had some trouble with Yan Diomande on his right flank—and whose side of the field also saw the 0–1 goal—was visibly impressed by the substitutes after the match. It was Deniz Undav and Nadiem Amiri who combined to set up the 1-1 equalizer. And Undav’s second goal sealed the victory in the closing minutes.
“We knew before the tournament that our bench would be important. They were today—all the substitutes were outstanding. Whether it was Deniz, who can always make a difference, or Nadiem, who made a huge impact,” Kimmich told Magenta TV.
Kimmich was particularly impressed by Undav, who scored twice, after the game: “You can sense at every moment when he gets the ball that he already feels he can decide the game with every move he makes. And that’s very, very important.”
And Undav’s record of nine goals in eleven international matches is certainly impressive. But for Undav, Kimmich, and the other Bayern stars to go far, they’ll need to step it up even more. With that kind of improvement and the necessary quality coming off the bench, however, the German team could very well pull off a surprise.
