Successful premiere in the national team: Alexander Nübel successfully competed for the DFB goal in his first international match. Competitor Oliver Baumann can now play against the Netherlands.
Alexander Nübel was one of the last to come out of the locker room on Saturday night. He beamed as he walked towards the team bus at the stadium in Zenica and traveled back to Germany with his national team colleagues after the 2-1 (2-0) win against Bosnia-Herzegovina in the Nations League. “I’m very proud, satisfied and very happy that we pulled it off,” said the 28-year-old goalkeeper. For him it was his debut in the jersey of the German Football Association (DFB). “It’s a sporting highlight” of his career so far, said Nübel.
It was a quiet premiere for a good hour. A shot from the Bosnian crossbar, a few passes, commands to the people in front of him, otherwise Nübel had very little to do. It could have been a perfect debut without conceding a goal. But after a corner, Bosnia’s legendary striker Edin Dzeko headed the goal (70′), hitting the short corner from a few meters away. Far from being a goalkeeping mistake. The game became exciting again.
Afterwards, experts and fans in the stands and in front of the televisions and live streams simply asked themselves: Would Nübel have held on? can? The goalkeeper, who was loaned out from FC Bayern to VfB Stuttgart, still had his fingertips on the ball.
What does Nübel mean? “The header was well placed, right next to the post. That was difficult for me. I tried everything, but it wasn’t enough,” he answered questions about the goal conceded. He is annoyed about every goal conceded and wants to take a look at the situation on the video images in peace.
“… if someone gets ten goals, probably not”
Nobody blamed him. Captain Joshua Kimmich and national coach Julian Nagelsmann absolved Nübel of any blame for the goal conceded. “Unfortunately he sees the ball very late because there are two players in front of him. He’s standing on the goal line and can’t really push himself off, otherwise he’ll jump against the post,” said Kimmich. Nübel exuded calm and security, but was unable to distinguish himself on this Friday evening in Bosnia-Herzegovina. There were too few shots, crosses and crosses in front of his goal.
On Monday (8:45 p.m., ZDF), Germany will host the Netherlands in the second and final game of this international trip. Then 34-year-old Oliver Baumann from TSG Hoffenheim will guard the German goal. This was already discussed before the game in Zenica; Number one Marc-André ter Stegen from FC Barcelona will be out until at least the summer of 2025 with a serious knee injury. Manuel Neuer, the previous number one, who recently withdrew from the selection, will say goodbye to Thomas Müller, Ilkay Gündogan and Toni Kroos in the stadium on Monday.
“I’m now happy for Olli that he’s making his debut and hope that we win the game too,” replied Nübel when asked about his prospects in the DFB squad. “Then we’ll see what happens.” Baumann congratulated him after his debut in Zenica, “We get along well, we treat each other to everything.”
Games in the Nations League are coming up again in November. Will Nübel and Baumann take turns again at the end of the group phase? “I don’t know,” replied national coach Nagelsmann. “It depends on the performance in the league. If someone gets ten goals, probably not.”
Julien Wolff was at the game in Zenica. He is a football editor and has been reporting from Munich since 2011 about FC Bayernalso about the Bundesliga and the national team.
