Allegation of disadvantage refuted: Why Nagelsmann called up four goalkeepers
National coach Julian Nagelsmann once again surprised everyone with several personnel decisions in his DFB squad. On Monday, the 38-year-old explained why he called up four goalkeepers – and why this poses no disadvantage on match days.
Close communication: National coach Julian Nagelsmann (left) and goalkeeping coach Andreas Kronenberg. IMAGO/Matthias Koch
The German national team faces two crucial World Cup qualifying matches. The game in Luxembourg on Friday is followed on Monday (both at 8:45 pm, LIVE! on kicker) by the match against Slovakia, who are currently level on points. It will also be interesting to see which goalkeeper national coach Julian Nagelsmann will choose to replace first-choice keeper Oliver Baumann .
This time , three more goalkeepers have been nominated. Nagelsmann dismissed as pure fiction the suggestion, circulating in some quarters, that this could mean a field player would be left out on match day. "Why would one be missing?" he replied when asked. "We have 21 field players with us – and not all four goalkeepers are on the bench. There are regulations about how many goalkeepers can be on the bench. That's always the same. It doesn't matter whether you take eight keepers or four."
Only three goalkeepers may be listed on the match report; consequently, two will be on the bench. Of the trio Noah Atubolu , Finn Dahmen , and Alexander Nübel , one will have to sit in the stands.
So why did Nagelsmann opt for four goalkeepers this time? The national coach explained that this was partly due to "training management." After two "huge blocks of training for the players," the aim was to prevent injuries. Having a total of four goalkeepers in the squad allowed him to ensure "that it's not always the same goalkeeper in goal when we're doing shooting drills after training."
The German national team simply has "many players who want to shoot after training, who want to get into a rhythm." And that's easier to manage and guarantee with four goalkeepers.
"If I start with Noah..."On the other hand, the nomination is a sign of appreciation. Nagelsmann first brought Atubolu into the discussion: "If I consider Noah: He suffered an unfortunate injury in the last training camp, had to cut training short and leave early. He deserves to be there again and show what he can do."
Freiburg's regular goalkeeper had been called up at the beginning of October, but was then unable to get any more national team action due to a blow to his right knee.
In the case of FCA goalkeeper Dahmen, it's also about not "letting down" a talented goalkeeper. Because: "Finn has had one or two games where things didn't go optimally, but that's also due to the overall situation at the club. He's not solely responsible."
Even though Dahmen conceded "two goals he perhaps didn't need to" in the resounding 0-6 defeat against RB Leipzig , the overall impression is paramount. The former Mainz player has, after all, "delivered superbly consistent performances for over two years." Like Atubolu, however, he still has to wait for his debut with the senior national team.
