From a factory job to a national hero: Undav takes Germany to the playoffs despite criticism...

For the first time since the winning campaign of 2014, the German national team has guaranteed itself an advance to the playoffs of the World Cup. The main creator of this success unexpectedly became the 29-year-old striker Denis Undav, who is his own Coming off the bench, Undav shows incredible efficiency. In the two matches played at the World Cup, he already recorded five productive actions (3 goals and 2 assists). This allowed him to: Tie the legendary Cameroonian Roger Milla (1990) for the most goalscoring actions by a substitute at the World Cup since 1966. Become the first German since Miroslav Klose (2002) to score in his first two World Cup matches. In total, Denis has already scored 9 goals in 11 games for the national team. Undav's place in the tournament bid was far from clear due to a public spat with head coach Julian Nagelsmann. In March, after the winning goal against Ghana, the forward declared his ambition to play in the starting lineup. Then Nagelsmann sharply replied that the player was only putting extra pressure on himself, but later apologized for his words. Now the coach is forced to reconsider his plans, as Undav wins competition from Arsenal striker Kai Havertz. After the match against Côte d'Ivoire, Nagelsmann noted: "I could have included him in the starting line-up, but why would I disrupt his flow of play? He came on twice and scored twice. He really reached the highest point at the World Cup." Denis Undav's story is an example of phenomenal perseverance: At the age of 14, Werder expelled him because of his short stature, which, according to the player himself, broke his heart. At the age of 17, playing for Hafelse in Germany's fourth division and earning €120 a week, he woke up at 4 a.m. to work an eight-hour shift behind a laser machine in a factory before heading to training. He later shone at Union Saint-Gilloise in Belgium, moved to Brighton in England, and spent the 2025-26 season triumphantly in Stuttgart, scoring 19 goals in the Bundesliga (second only to Harry Kane). "It's a wonderful, fantastic feeling. For me to receive the trophy (the best player of the match) is extraordinary, but the most important thing is that we won the game and went to the next round," Undav shared his emotions. Якщо нападник збереже таку вражаючу форму, на нього та збірну Німеччини можуть чекати найвищі нагороди, адже команда серйозно налаштована здобути свій п'ятий титул чемпіонів світу.