Niclas Füllkrug will not be contributing goals to the German national team at the 2026 World Cup. Consequently, the striker is notably absent from the DFB’s squad for the tournament.
This time, the number 9 jersey belongs to Jamie Leweling of VfB Stuttgart, not Niclas Füllkrug. Furthermore, it’s not a case of the center-forward simply participating in the World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico (June 11 — July 19) with a different squad number for the German national team.
Füllkrug is not included in the DFB squad for the tournament, despite having been the primary «super-sub» in the attacking department during the 2024 European Championship held in Germany.
But for what reason is he not playing a role in the 2026 World Cup? SPOX provides the answer.
Germany’s 2026 World Cup Squad: Why is Niclas Füllkrug Not Included?
While head coach Julian Nagelsmann has to contend with the absences of Serge Gnabry and Lennart Karl due to injury in the German national team’s offense, he has made a voluntary decision to exclude Füllkrug.
The 33-year-old forward did not have a successful club season, scoring only one goal throughout the entire campaign. He spent the first half of the season in England with West Ham United, where Füllkrug managed just around 400 minutes of game time in nine competitive matches. In early January, he transferred to top Italian club AC Milan to try and impress for the World Cup, but to no avail. His only success came on January 18th in Serie A. Out of his 20 appearances for the Lombardy club, the veteran started in only three games.
All of this was insufficient for him to be selected for the DFB squad for the major tournament in North America.
Germany’s 2026 World Cup Squad: Niclas Füllkrug’s Good DFB Record Not a Factor
The fact that Füllkrug boasts a good record of 14 goals in 24 international appearances since his debut in November 2022 was evidently not a deciding factor. The Hannover native, who is facing a permanent departure from West Ham after his loan spell in Milan, will have to follow the World Cup on television.
Instead, Nagelsmann is planning to rely on Kai Havertz in the central attacking role, with Deniz Undav and Nick Woltemade as his deputies.
Germany’s 2026 World Cup Squad: The DFB Squad List
| Position | Player | Club | Jersey Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Oliver Baumann | TSG Hoffenheim | 12 |
| Goalkeeper | Manuel Neuer | FC Bayern Munich | 1 |
| Goalkeeper | Alexander Nübel | VfB Stuttgart | 21 |
| Defender | Waldemar Anton | Borussia Dortmund | 3 |
| Defender | Nathaniel Brown | Eintracht Frankfurt | 18 |
| Midfielder | Pascal Groß | Brighton & Hove Albion | 13 |
| Midfielder | Joshua Kimmich | FC Bayern Munich | 6 |
| Midfielder | Felix Nmecha | Borussia Dortmund | 23 |
| Midfielder | Aleksandar Pavlovic | FC Bayern Munich | 5 |
| Defender | David Raum | RB Leipzig | 22 |
| Defender | Antonio Rüdiger | Real Madrid | 2 |
| Defender | Nico Schlotterbeck | Borussia Dortmund | 15 |
| Defender | Angelo Stiller | VfB Stuttgart | 16 |
| Defender | Jonathan Tah | FC Bayern Munich | 4 |
| Defender | Malick Thiaw | Newcastle United | 24 |
| Midfielder | Nadiem Amiri | Mainz 05 | 20 |
| Forward | Maximilian Beier | Borussia Dortmund | 14 |
| Midfielder | Leon Goretzka | FC Bayern Munich | 8 |
| Forward | Kai Havertz | FC Arsenal | 7 |
| Midfielder | Assan Ouedraogo | RB Leipzig | 25 |
| Forward | Jamie Leweling | VfB Stuttgart | 9 |
| Forward | Jamal Musiala | FC Bayern Munich | 10 |
| Forward | Leroy Sane | Galatasaray Istanbul | 19 |
| Forward | Deniz Undav | VfB Stuttgart | 26 |
| Forward | Florian Wirtz | FC Liverpool | 17 |
| Forward | Nick Woltemade | Newcastle United | 11 |