With some stories, you just hope they don’t repeat themselves. BVB fans in particular will surely still remember the heartbreaking moment when Marco Reus suffered a serious injury in the final warm-up match on home soil just before the 2014 World Cup and didn’t travel to Rio. The venue back then: Mainz.
The fact that today’s match is also being played at Mainz’s stadium doesn’t have to mean anything, but still: everyone watching the game against Finland live on their devices right now is surely hoping they haven’t once again witnessed such a moment.
A lot of people were really happy for Deniz Undav in the last few minutes, as he used today’s friendly to show national team coach Nagelsmann that his goal instinct and poacher’s qualities are useful for more than just the closing stages. He scored two goals and provided an assist.
The bitter part: right after making it 3:0 himself, Undav had to come off. After a counterattack, Karl brilliantly played the ball into space for him, Undav controlled it and coolly finished for his brace (57th minute).
However, we didn’t see the same big celebration on the TV pictures as after his first goal. Instead, the Stuttgart striker was on the ground shortly after scoring. After a brief spell of treatment, Undav was at least able to get up by himself and walk to the sideline – but he still had to be substituted, with Beier coming on for him. Before that, Undav had grabbed the back of his right thigh.
All that remains is to hope it was simply one sprint too many and his muscles tightened up – and not something that could still keep him from taking part in the World Cup. Especially after all the discussions surrounding him, and the pretty cool way he handled them by letting his performances on the pitch do the talking, that would surely be a real disgrace in the eyes of many.
His teammates, meanwhile, still have everything firmly under control. Shortly after Undav was substituted, Musiala made it 4:0 with a shot from 16 meters out (63rd minute).
If Undav isn’t injured – would he have your vote for a spot in the starting lineup at the tournament too? Feel free to write it in the comments!
📸 Alexander Hassenstein – 2026 Getty Images
