Why Lennart Karl is missing the 2026 World Cup for Germany

Germany begin their 2026 FIFA World Cup Group E campaign on Sunday against tournament debutants Curacao at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. However, the European giants will be without Lennart Karl because of injury.

The 18-year-old attacking midfielder was included by head coach Julian Nagelsmann in the 26-man squad that traveled to North America to compete for the trophy, but a muscle injury suffered during training on June 5 ended his chances of participating in the tournament.

Karl earned his place with Germany thanks to his performances for Bayern Munich. After making his professional debut in the Bundesliga at just 17 years old, he quickly established himself as an important option for the German side, appearing in 40 matches during the 2025-26 season while recording nine goals and eight assists.

Those numbers convinced Nagelsmann to call Karl into the national team, where he made his debut during the March FIFA window by coming on in the second half against Switzerland. After that, he made two more appearances, against Ghana and Finland, before the muscle injury sidelined him.

As a result, Lennart Karl missed the opportunity to become the second-youngest player to appear in a World Cup for Germany. He would have made his potential tournament debut at 18 years and 109 days old, narrowly missing the record held by Youssoufa Moukoko, who played at Qatar 2022 at 18 years and three days old.

Other Germany absences for the 2026 World Cup

Lennart Karl’s injury was a significant blow for Germany. Not only did they lose a promising young talent who could have provided solutions at key moments during the tournament, but the timing of the setback also came just days before the competition began.

However, other stars had already been ruled out because of physical issues. The first was Marc-Andre ter Stegen. Earlier this year, the goalkeeper decided to leave Barcelona — where he had lost his place in the starting lineup to Joan Garcia — in search of greater opportunities elsewhere.

His destination was Girona, another La Liga club. However, he was barely able to play any official matches there because of a muscle injury suffered in February that sidelined him until May. Without regular playing time at club level, Julian Nagelsmann ultimately left him out of the World Cup squad and instead opted to bring back Manuel Neuer.

The other major absentee for Germany is Serge Gnabry. The Bayern Munich forward was a key figure for the national team and appeared to have secured a place not only in the squad but also in the starting lineup. However, a serious adductor injury suffered in late April ruled him out of the tournament.