Germany’s search for a true No. 9 puts Havertz back in the spotlight

After Germany’s last two World Cup failures in 2018 and 2022, many blamed the exits on a missing true center forward. That concern has followed the team into the 2026 World Cup, where the player wearing No. 9 is Stuttgart attacking midfielder Jamie Leweling, who has only five senior caps. Against that backdrop, Julian Nagelsmann has made Kai Havertz his first-choice attacker ahead of Deniz Undav and taller Newcastle striker Nick Woltemade.

Havertz answered that trust with a strong start, scoring twice in Germany’s 7-1 opening win over Curaçao in Houston. The result eased pressure in the camp and gave Germany its first opening-game World Cup win since the 2014 title run. For Havertz, it capped a difficult year at club level, where he spent much of the season injured and played barely 1,000 minutes in all competitions.

Arsenal signed Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting Lisbon in the summer, and Havertz was supposed to face major competition there. Instead, he suffered a serious knee injury at the start of the season, missed about four months, then had two more hamstring injuries in February and April. Even so, he helped Arsenal secure its first league title since 2004 and scored in the Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain. Nagelsmann said before the team flew to the United States: “We need Kai. We saw how important he is for Arsenal, not only because of the goal he scored in the final. His work rate in defense, his heading ability and his marking on set pieces help the teams he plays for.”

Havertz has never been an unquestioned favorite in Germany, and his role has shifted constantly through his career. He has played as a midfielder, false nine, winger and central striker, and in the national team has even appeared once as a left wing-back. He does not have Jamal Musiala’s dribbling or Florian Wirtz’s vision, but he creates space, runs tirelessly and contributes to the attack. His international record, 24 goals in 59 appearances, is respectable rather than spectacular. Thomas Müller said, “Havertz is a key player in this team,” adding that he wants to see him on the pitch at every moment unless he can no longer run. Havertz now arrives at the tournament with much to prove, and possibly, for the first time, with real backing from both the coaching staff and the public.