Lennart Karl will be watching Germany from afar

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JUNE 05: Lennart Karl of Germany arrives for a Team Germany Training session at Soldier Field on June 05, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. Germany will face the United States in an international friendly match on June 6, 2026. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images) | Getty Images Missing out on the World Cup due to a muscular injury he picked up just ahead of Germany’s final tuneup friendly against the United States in Chicago is one of the most bitter pills Lennart Karl will ever have to swallow.

He started and put forth a solid performance in the tuneup friendly against Finland in Mainz, prompting suspicion that he maybe be a big part of Julian Nagelsmann’s plans at the World Cup, but for now he’ll focus on getting healthy and fit while he cheers his compatriots on away from the United States.While it will hurt for Karl to see his nation out there playing knowing that he should be involved, he recently affirmed that he will still be watching every single match Die Mannschaft plays at the World Cup, wherever he might be for any and all of them. “Of course I’ll watch the opening match, just like every other one.

I don’t know exactly where yet. But I’ll definitely be cheering the boys on and supporting the team. I’m absolutely convinced that the team will give it their all and have a great World Cup,” Bayern’s number 42 explained while recently speaking to Bild (via @iMiaSanMia).

On paper, there’s absolutely no reason Germany should not be able to get out of a group with Curaçao, Côte d’Ivoire, and Ecuador and it’d be hard to even argue against the expectation that they should be winning the group. Whether advancing to the knockouts is via winning the group, coming in second, or being one of the tournaments strongest third place group finishers, Germany have to be aiming to go far in the tournament and avoid facing the severe disappointments similar to Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022. It had recently come out that the DFB internally would consider Germ