BERLIN: Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann on Thursday backed Newcastle striker Nick Woltemade to lead the line for his injury-hit side in their 2026 World Cup qualification bid.
The Germans face Luxembourg away on Friday before returning home to take on Slovakia on Monday, with the latter match likely to determine who qualifies for the tournament directly.
Woltemade, 23, has only played six games for Germany since making his debut in June. He scored the winner in October’s 1-0 victory over Northern Ireland, his first Germany goal.
“Right now he’s super important because we’ve got a few players out injured in that position and because he’s a very good player,” Nagelsmann said.
“He’s in high demand for us right now because he’s doing well, he’s important in pressing, in holding onto the ball and in scoring goals.”
The 1.98-meter tall Woltemade hit the ground running in England after moving to Newcastle in the summer, scoring in four of his first five Premier League games.
“He’s scored several times already. He’s popular with the fans. He feels comfortable in the city,” Nagelsmann said.
“Right now the situation is good for Nick and good for us too.”
Captain Joshua Kimmich was on Thursday ruled out of the Luxembourg match with an ankle injury, becoming the latest to join Nagelsmann’s overcrowded casualty ward.
Bayern Munich center-back Jonathan Tah will captain Germany in Kimmich’s absence.
Kai Havertz, Jamal Musiala, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Nico Schlotterbeck, Antonio Rudiger, Niclas Fuellkrug and Tim Kleindienst are all on the injury list, while Karim Adeyemi will miss Friday’s match with a yellow card suspension.
After a surprise 2-0 loss to Slovakia in Bratislava in their opening fixture in September, Germany have steadied the ship, winning three from three.
Germany are level on points in their World Cup qualifying group with second-placed Slovakia but ahead on goal difference.
Slovakia, who host Northern Ireland on Friday, travel to Leipzig to face Germany on Monday in a match which will decide who finishes atop the Group A standings.
Regardless of Friday’s results, both Germany and Slovakia cannot qualify until Monday’s match.
Only the first-placed team is guaranteed to qualify for next year’s finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Luxembourg have lost four from four in World Cup qualifying, including a 4-0 loss to Germany in October.
Four-time winners Germany have never failed to qualify for a World Cup in the tournament’s history.
Nagelsmann backs Woltemade to shine for injury-hit Germany
https://arab.news/v7h4g
Nagelsmann backs Woltemade to shine for injury-hit Germany
- The Germans face Luxembourg away on Friday before returning home to take on Slovakia on Monday
- Woltemade, 23, has only played six games for Germany since making his debut in June
Iva Jovic hopes to channel Novak Djokovic on Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships debut
- American teen sensation looking to build on strong start to 2026 season
DUBAI: Things have been developing fast for American teenager Iva Jovic.
This time last year, she was ranked 167 in the world and had just lost in the opening round of a Challenger in Cancun.
Today, she is perched nicely at a career-high No. 20 in the world rankings, with a WTA title under her belt (in Guadalajara last year) and an Australian Open quarterfinal appearance last month.
At 18, the Californian became the youngest American woman to reach the last-eight stage at Melbourne Park since Venus Williams in 1998.
Having started 2026 with an impressive 11-3 win-loss record (semis in Auckland, final in Hobart, quarters at the Australian Open), Jovic withdrew from the WTA tournaments in Abu Dhabi and Doha to take some much-needed time off and is now in the UAE ready to make her debut at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
We caught up with Jovic on Saturday ahead of her Dubai opener against former world No. 3 Maria Sakkari.
What does it mean for you to be coming to these tournaments now that you probably were watching in the past coming to this part of the world?
I mean, it’s so special. Obviously, it’s one thing to kind of play your first WTA events and get the feel for it, but it’s a different one to be in the tournaments every week and have your ranking at a place where you can play the full calendar. So that was the goal for me, and it’s pretty incredible to have had it all as it is now and to just be here.
Obviously, I want to win every match I play. I hate to lose. But I also try to remember that just being here is an incredible accomplishment and privilege. But Dubai has been so fun. I went to the mall yesterday. I went to the top of the Burj Khalifa. So I’ve already got to do a couple of things.
The culture and everything is very cool here. It’s my first time in this part of the world, so it’s very cool to see all these new things. I feel like I’m learning a lot, so much more to come.
I know you had to pull out of the last couple of tournaments in Abu Dhabi and Doha. I’m just wondering, post-Australia, what came into that decision?
Yeah, I think I just needed a little bit more time. I think I played the most matches out of anyone in the Australian swing. It was a lot, and I’m really happy with how it went. It was a great experience, and I won a lot, right? So that’s what you want. But I also needed to rest and train a little bit to just take care of my body. And now I’m feeling good and ready to go to be here in Dubai.
With Australia, now that you’ve had a little bit of time and space since then, what was the biggest takeaways from that? And did any of it take you by surprise?
I like to think that it’s surprising but not surprising, because obviously having great results and maybe some wins weren’t expected, but I also know how hard I’ve worked, and that good things tend to come when you put in the right work. So, surprised, but also not that surprised. Again, I think it’s one thing to have a couple of those good results, but for me the most important thing is consistency. So I want to establish myself as a player who’s going deep every single week.
You’ve got Maria Sakkari in your first round. She just made the semis in Doha. How do you look ahead to that match?
That’s definitely going to be a tough one. So thank you, Alex (Eala) for giving me a tough match. She pulled my name out (during the draw), but that’s okay. I’ll forgive her. But no, that’ll be a difficult one. Maria is a fighter. I played her in doubles, first meeting in singles. I mean I’m so new on the tour, still. I haven’t played a lot of these women. But she’s a competitor. She’s been around for a while and obviously making semis last week. She’s in top form. But, you know, again, you love the battle and you want the tough matches. So hopefully I can pull through.
You got to play the world number one in a Grand Slam quarterfinal. Didn’t go your way, but I’m wondering what did you take from that experience?
Yeah, I think that obviously you want to play the best just to win, yes, but even if you don’t, to just see where you stand. I think I’ve done a good job so far of learning from every loss, and I think that’s all it is. You learn from it, and it’s just fine margins. The differences aren’t that big.
It’s just little details that you need to work on that I’ve already been working on the past couple weeks, so hopefully that can show.
I know Novak Djokovic has been sending you tips. You’ve been in contact. He’s won this tournament a bunch of times. Are you going to perhaps be like, give me some tips for this Dubai court?
Oh, my God. Well, I hope … I don’t know if I’m brave enough to do that. I’m still a little nervous when I talk to him. He’s definitely my idol, but yeah, I see him at every corner. I’m like, how many times did this guy win the tournament? I see him on every screen. But just try to be like Novak. I’m going to keep it that simple.
