Julian Nagelsmann has named his 26 man Germany squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and three players of Nigerian descent who had been in contention for the squad have all missed out, with only one of them retaining any realistic hope of one day representing the Super Eagles instead.
Germany have been drawn into Group C of the 2026 World Cup alongside Ecuador, Curacao and Cote d’Ivoire as they look to improve on their dismal performances at the two previous tournaments, where they were eliminated in the group stage. The biggest story within the squad announcement was the recall of 40 year old Manuel Neuer, who had officially retired from international duty after UEFA Euro 2024 but performed a dramatic U-turn to pursue a fifth World Cup appearance with the national team. As reported by FootballInNigeria.com.ng, the recall of Neuer came at a direct cost to Noah Atubolu, one of the three players of Nigerian descent to miss out on the final squad.
Jamal Musiala, who has a British-Nigerian father and a German mother, is present in the squad and will compete at a World Cup for the second time after featuring in Qatar in 2022. His inclusion is well deserved on the back of another outstanding season for Bayern Munich. The three players whose Nigerian roots make their omission a story of particular interest to Nigerian football fans are Karim Adeyemi, Noah Atubolu and Kevin Schade. Nigerian fans wanting to place bets on Germany’s World Cup group stage fixtures can check the Bet9ja World Cup promo page for the best available markets.
Atubolu: The One Who Could Still Choose Nigeria
Of the three players, only Atubolu retains any realistic prospect of switching his international allegiance to the Super Eagles. Under FIFA regulations, a player who has represented a country only in non-competitive matches, which is the case for Atubolu given his Germany call up came with no competitive minutes played, may be eligible to switch provided they meet the nationality requirements of the other country and submit a formal application to FIFA’s Players’ Status Committee. The NFF has not publicly approached Atubolu, and whether any discussion has taken place behind the scenes is not known.
What is certain is that Atubolu’s career is at a crossroads. Nagelsmann passed him over in favour of a 40 year old goalkeeper who had been retired from international football, a decision that will sting for any ambitious young keeper. His record of five consecutive Bundesliga penalty saves is a marker of his quality, and the fact that Freiburg reached the Europa League final this season before losing to Aston Villa shows he has been operating at a high level under pressure. Whether that level is enough to convince the NFF to make a formal approach before Atubolu earns his first competitive Germany cap remains one of the more interesting eligibility questions in Nigerian football this summer. Those placing bets on Germany’s World Cup group games can use the Bet9ja’s YOHAIG promo code for the best welcome offer ahead of the tournament.
Adeyemi’s Connection to Nigeria Runs Deeper Than Football
Among the three omitted players, Karim Adeyemi’s relationship with Nigerian heritage is perhaps the most publicly expressed. The Dortmund winger has spoken openly about his connection to Nigerian culture, visited Ibadan to establish a football academy, and has been spotted at Afrobeats events and social gatherings in the Nigerian community both in Germany and during visits to West Africa. He speaks warmly about Yoruba cuisine and African music, and his academy project in Ibadan has been welcomed by local football development stakeholders as a genuine grassroots investment.
His exclusion from the Germany squad is purely on footballing grounds. A difficult season under Niko Kovac, where he started only 15 Bundesliga games, left him with insufficient ammunition to make the case for a squad place against a highly competitive group of attacking options. Florian Wirtz in particular had an outstanding season that made him a certainty for the squad, and with Musiala, Leroy Sane and others also selected, there simply was not room for Adeyemi. German and Nigerian World Cup fans who want to track the fixtures can use the Bet9ja statistics page to research team form ahead of each group game.
For Kevin Schade at Brentford, the omission is less surprising. He has been a fringe Germany player since his debut three years ago and has never established himself as a first-choice option for Nagelsmann. His best hope of a World Cup in future editions of the tournament depends on a sustained run of form at club level that forces the coach’s hand, something he has not yet managed to deliver over a full season in the Premier League.
📌 Did You Know?
- Manuel Neuer, who was recalled to the Germany squad ahead of the 2026 World Cup, will be 40 years and 91 days old when the tournament begins in June 2026. If he plays, he will become the oldest goalkeeper to represent Germany at a World Cup, surpassing Sepp Maier’s record set in 1974.
- Karim Adeyemi was named in Germany’s 2022 World Cup squad in Qatar but did not play a single minute as Germany were eliminated in the group stage. A tournament appearance in 2026 would have been his first senior World Cup action.
- Noah Atubolu’s record of five consecutive Bundesliga penalty saves in a single season is an unprecedented achievement in German top-flight football. His shot stopping statistics in the 2025-26 season placed him among the top three goalkeepers in the division by save percentage.
- Jamal Musiala, the one player of Nigerian descent who did make the squad, previously represented England at youth level before switching to Germany. He scored three goals and provided four assists for Bayern Munich in the 2025-26 Bundesliga season and was one of the first names in Nagelsmann’s squad.
- Kevin Schade joined Brentford from Freiburg in January 2023 for a fee of approximately £20 million, making him one of the most expensive players in Brentford’s history at the time of the transfer. He has scored 14 Premier League goals across three seasons at the club.
- Germany are in Group C of the 2026 World Cup alongside Ecuador, Curacao and Cote d’Ivoire. Cote d’Ivoire, who Nigeria face in the Unity Cup this week via the other semi final, are one of the more formidable sides in Germany’s group and will be expected to challenge for second place.
- Karim Adeyemi’s football academy project in Ibadan is one of several initiatives by players of Nigerian descent based in Europe who have chosen to invest in grassroots football development in Nigeria. Similar projects have been backed by players including Kelechi Iheanacho and Alex Iwobi in recent years.