Soccer
Germany’s head coach, Julian Nagelsmann, has made the headlines after deciding to drop three players of Nigerian descent from his 26-man 2026 FIFA World Cup squad, Soccernet.ng reports.
Die Nationalmannschaft have been drawn into the FIFA World Cup Group C alongside Ecuador, Curacao, and Côte d’Ivoire as they look to wipe away their poor performances in the previous two editions of the Mundial.
One of the biggest inclusions in Nagelsmann’s team was Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, making a return to the national team for the first time in almost two years.
The 40-year-old officially retired from Germany’s national team on August 21, 2024, following the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament, but has now made a U-turn for his fifth World Cup appearance.
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Jamal Musiala was born to a German mother, Carolin Musiala, who has Polish roots. His father, Daniel Richard, is a British-Nigerian.
Although he represented England at the youth level, he ended up switching International allegiance to represent the four-time World Cup winners, and has been called up for his second World Cup participation after representing Germany in Qatar four years ago.
Soccernet.ng reveals the Nigerian talents excluded from Julian Nagelsmann’s World Cup squad.
1. Karim Adeyemi
The Borussia Dortmund attacker was born in Munich to a Nigerian father and a Romanian mother. He’s also very vocal about his depth of Nigerian culture.
He’s been seen in Ibadan, a South-western City in Nigeria, starting a football academy. He’s also a fan of the Yoruba swallow dishes and African music.
Adeyemi had a topsy-turvy season under Niko Kovac at the Signal Iduna Park this season, starting just 15 league games, as Die Schwarzgelben finished second on the Bundesliga table.
His last game for the German national team came in October 2025, and he’s been left out of the World Cup squad.
Adeyemi was named in the German squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, but did not feature in any match, as Germany were knocked out at the group stage.
2. Noah Atubolu
Noah Atubolu holds the Bundesliga record for saving five consecutive penalties, an unprecedented feat in Germany’s top flight.
Set to turn 24 next Monday, the SC Freiburg goalkeeper has Nigerian roots, but chose the DFB when a call-up came in October 2025, although he’s yet to play a game for them. With Ter Stegen out with an injury, Hoffenheim’s Oliver Baumann had been Nagelsmann’s go-to number one.
However, the coach chose to call on Manuel Neuer and Alexander Nubel, leaving Atubolu to suffer another heartbreak after losing the UEFA Europa League final to Aston Villa in Istanbul last night.
3. Kevin Schade
Born to a German mother and Nigerian father, Schade made his first appearance for Germany in 2023, having represented Germany at the youth level. However, he’s only gone on to play five games for them since his debut.
Nadiem Amiri, Maximillian Beier, Leroy Sane, Lennart Karl, Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala were deemed to be better options on the flank over Schade by Julian Nagelsmann.
Of the three players dropped by Germany, only Noah Atubolu still has the option of representing the Super Eagles in the future.
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