Leroy Sané has returned to the Germany squad and Lebanon-born Saïd Benrahma has been called up for the first time, for the final two UEFA qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup against Luxembourg and Slovakia. Coach Julian Nagelsmann decided to give 19-year-old Benrahma his first chance with the Germany national team, despite having played fewer than nine matches in the German Bundesliga for his club Köln, who returned to the top flight this season, but he has scored four goals. After a two-year absence from the squad, Newcastle United defender Malik Tillman returned, as did Brentford striker Kevin Schade, who was called up for the first time since 2024. Meanwhile, Robert Andrich, Robin Koch, Angelo Stiller, and Maximilian Beier were dropped from the squad after being part of the team during last month's victories over Luxembourg (4-0) and Northern Ireland (1-0). Despite his move to the Turkish league to play for Galatasaray, Nagelsmann opted to call up Sané, the former Manchester City and Bayern Munich winger, for the first time since June. Nagelsmann said that Sané "deserved to be called up due to his good performances in the Champions League and the Super League (Turkish)". Sané (70 international caps) has scored three goals and provided three assists in 14 matches so far for Galatasaray. Germany is missing several key players due to injury, such as Kai Havertz, Jamal Musiala, Niclas Füllkrug, goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen, and Antonio Rüdiger. For these two matches, scheduled for the 14th and 17th, Nagelsmann will rely on an attack featuring Florian Wirtz (Liverpool) and Nick Pope (Newcastle). Germany tops the group on goal difference from second-placed Slovakia and three points ahead of third-placed Northern Ireland.
