Nagelsmann confirms that Gross and Füllkrug will start against Hungary

With Toni Kroos and Ilkay Gündogan no longer playing for Germany, head coach Julian Nagelsmann will have to adjust to life without two of his key midfielders from the Euro 2024 squad.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday, the Germany coach revealed that Pascal Gross and Niclas Füllkrug will start in their absence against Hungary in the Nations League on Saturday.

“Pascal Groß will play, but he’s not playing the Toni Kroos role; he’s playing the Pascal Groß role. Niclas Füllkrug will come in for Ilkay Gündogan, but it won’t be a like-for-like swap," said Nagelsmann. 

“Every player should do what they can do well. Kai Havertz will drop back into midfield a little more but depending on how the game goes we may go with two up top. We’re very flexible.”

Alongside Kroos and Gündogan, two other veterans have retired from international duty in Manuel Neuer and Thomas Müller. On coping without them, Nagelsmann said:

“We’ve lost four experienced players who were really important for us. But change also brings an opportunity for other players who were perhaps behind them in the pecking order. Naturally, I was sad when the quartet said they were retiring, but that’s sometimes part of football.”