"You can’t go wrong by taking him along": Markus Babbel makes a case for a surprise striker in the German World Cup squad

"You can’t go wrong by bringing him along. I reckon Julian Nagelsmann is still looking for that classic centre-forward,” said Babbel on Pro7 Maxx. Tresoldi of Club Brugge has “that instinct for where the ball might fall,” he remarked, thereby attesting to the 21-year-old’s typical goalscoring quality. “To me, he’s the classic centre-forward,” added Babbel. 

Tresoldi had recently impressed with a brace in Germany’s U21s’ 3-0 win over Northern Ireland in the European Championship qualifiers. In Tuesday’s 2-0 win in Greece, he failed to find the net.

Tresoldi grew up in Italy and moved to Germany at the age of 13. He became a naturalised German citizen at 18 and immediately made his mark in the German youth national teams. Until now, Tresoldi had kept his options open regarding which national team to represent, with the Italian national team being the most likely choice for him, even though he could also have played for Argentina, his mother’s country of birth. 

Following Italy’s elimination in the World Cup play-offs against Bosnia, he no longer has the option of taking part in the World Cup should he receive an invitation to join the Squadra Azzurra. 

"It’s not always easy to make a decision," said DFB sporting director Rudi Völler when asked about Tresoldi’s situation. The former world-class striker described Tresoldi as "the future of German football", making it clear that he thinks highly of him. 

"I can’t say whether he’ll be ready in time for the World Cup. We do have good strikers," added Völler. 

In the DFB team, Kai Havertz had most recently started in the centre of attack in the friendly against Ghana (2-1). Nick Woltemade and Deniz Undav came on as substitutes in attack. Julian Nagelsmann sees the latter only in a super-sub role, which has led to much debate.