Julian Nagelsmann warns Germany teenager to 'keep his humility' after becoming youngest in 71 years to score debut goal with immediate impact against Slovakia

As per Opta, Ouedraogo became the youngest debutant to score for Germany since Klaus Sturmer in 1954, finding the net at just 19 years and 192 days. His rapid rise continued after he was initially called up to the German Under 21 squad but was promoted to the senior team when Nadiem Amiri withdrew through injury. Ouedraogo seized the opportunity brilliantly, marking his first international appearance with a historic milestone.

Ouedraogo reflected on the proud moment and expressed his joy, saying: “Of course, I never imagined it would go so well, but I'm not complaining. I'm very proud of this moment and incredibly happy.”

His teammate David Raum felt that Ouedraogo first needs time to absorb everything that has happened around his call up and first goal, but insisted that he is worthy of praise. 

“I think the lad needs to let everything that's happened over the last few weeks sink in first, but he definitely deserved it and crowned his debut today with a very good performance,” he said.

In an interview with Sky Sport, Germany coach Naggelsman said he is very pleased with Ouedraogo’s development, saying: "He's still very young, but I'm very happy with his development and hope he retains his humility. He needs to keep at it and continue in the same way."

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Germany sealed automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup with an emphatic 6-0 victory over Slovakia, securing top spot in their qualifying group. An inform Nick Woltemade opened the scoring, continuing his impressive goalscoring run for the national team. Serge Gnabry soon doubled the lead, giving Germany full control of the match. Leroy Sane then stepped up with a brilliant brace, a significant moment for the winger after Nagelsmann had warned that chances to prove himself would be limited. Sane’s performance silenced his critics and reaffirmed his value to the squad.

In the second half, Ridle Baku added a fifth before Ouedraogo capped off the dominant display with Germany’s sixth, further overwhelming a Slovak side that had no response. The victory also served as a strong comeback for Germany, who had suffered a 2-0 defeat to Slovakia in their previous meeting in the qualifiers back in September. This commanding win not only avenged that loss but also showcased Germany’s growing confidence and momentum heading into the World Cup.

Nagelsmann praised his team’s exceptional work rate and mentality as they secured automatic qualification for the World Cup after a difficult start to the campaign. 

Reflecting on the performance, he said: “I'm really proud of the team. We had a bumpy start to the qualifiers, and today the pressure was on. It was a very good game. Every player played extremely well today and worked like a maniac. We got into the game really well defensively, thanks to a huge effort. We also scored some great goals and were very convincing in terms of our footballing ability; the team did a really, really good job.”

Having progressed as winners of Group A, Germany will begin preparations for the 2026 tournament in Canada, United States and Mexico. The pressure is on Nagelsmann's side to improve on their disappointing group stage exits of the last two editions of the tournament. They will take on Ivory Coast and Finland in March friendlies ahead of the competition.

Slovakia, meanwhile, will have to go through the play-offs after coming in second and three points behind Nagelsmann's team.