"Bring something that's hard to defend against": Bastian Schweinsteiger surprises with his dream Germany squad for the 2026 World Cup

In front of that, Schweinsteiger is taking few risks with his back four. Borussia Dortmund's Nico Schlotterbeck is preferred to Antonio Rüdiger (Real Madrid) and forms the central defensive partnership with Jonathan Tah (FC Bayern Munich). As expected, Joshua Kimmich (FC Bayern Munich) and David Raum (RB Leipzig) make it into the starting line-up on the right and left, respectively.

In the holding midfield, alongside the probable starter Aleksandar Pavlovic (FC Bayern Munich), Schweinsteiger has chosen Pavlovic's clubmate Leon Goretzka (FC Bayern Munich) over Felix Nmecha (BVB).

One line further forward, Florian Wirtz (Liverpool FC) and Jamal Musiala (FC Bayern Munich) are virtual certainties, yet Schweinsteiger springs a surprise on the left wing. Somewhat unexpectedly, the 41-year-old has picked Chris Führich (VfB Stuttgart) for that role; the winger has recently entered the DFB squad only as a late call-up under Julian Nagelsmann.

"Chris Führich has developed well at Stuttgart. He always brings something that is difficult to defend against," Schweinsteiger explained, justifying his decision to pick the speedy dribbler from the reigning DFB Cup winners, who is currently in fine form. Fellow pundit Dietmar Hamann has also recently spoken in favour of the 28-year-old featuring at the World Cup.

Up front, the battle for a starting berth is equally open. Nick Woltemade (Newcastle United), Dennis Undav (VfB Stuttgart) and Kai Havertz (Arsenal) are in the frame, and Schweinsteiger believes the Arsenal man will just pip his rivals to a place in the XI.

Schweinsteiger also backs Havertz to edge the others. Meanwhile, young talents such as Lennart Karl (FC Bayern) and Said El Mala (1. FC Köln) could still earn World Cup squad places, though primarily as impact substitutes rather than regular starters.