Germany has turned to Assan Ouedraogo after Lennart Karl was ruled out of the World Cup with a training injury suffered on Friday. The DFB confirmed the switch at 23.26 on Friday night, ending Karl’s race to be fit in time for the tournament that begins next Thursday.
Ouedraogo, 20, of Leipzig, now steps into the squad as Julian Nagelsmann’s replacement pick. He is a variable attacking midfielder who can play on the wings and in the center, a profile that gives Germany options at a moment when the right side suddenly needed one.
The need became clear during Friday’s session, when Karl left about 20 minutes before the end and walked into the catacombs on his own before being taken for an MRI. Nagelsmann had already said later that day that a replacement might have to be called up if Karl could not play at the World Cup, and the diagnosis now leaves no room for hesitation.
That hurts because Karl had been the favorite for the right-wing spot, ahead of Leroy Sané and Jamie Leweling, and had been seen as Germany’s breakout player with a good chance of starting the opener. A muscle bundle tear is expected to keep him out of the tournament, turning a planned competition for a place into a last-minute vacancy.
Ouedraogo’s timing is strong. He made his senior international debut in Leipzig in November and marked it with a goal as a substitute in Germany’s 6:0 win over Slovakia. He had also returned strongly in the final stretch of the season after a run of injuries, which makes him a more natural fit than a pure emergency call-up.
Germany’s final World Cup test against the USA is scheduled for Saturday at 20.30, and the squad change is now part of the story around that match. For Karl, the immediate question is not whether he was replaced, but whether the injury heals quickly enough for him to have any role at all once the World Cup starts.
