For Kai Havertz, everything was somehow like it was at the home European Championships in the summer during the national football team’s explosive start to the Nations League. The 25-year-old once again scored coolly from the penalty spot in the 5-0 win against Hungary. However, the Arsenal professional was once again unlucky when faced with several top-class scoring opportunities from open play.
“He still sometimes lacks luck in finishing,” said Julian Nagelsmann. Havertz was stopped once by the goalkeeper and twice hit the post. “Kai’s header that hit the crossbar and the shot that hit the crossbar were good,” said the national coach, who has no doubts about Havertz ahead of the showdown in Amsterdam with the European Championship semi-finalists Netherlands on Tuesday (8.45 p.m./RTL). He will of course remain a regular in the attack, where he now takes on a more withdrawn role following Ilkay Gündogan’s resignation from the DFB.
Havertz can shape the DFB game
The home tournament was similar in terms of effectiveness. In the European Championship victories against Scotland (5:1) and Denmark (2:0), Havertz successfully took on responsibility as a penalty taker. And beyond those two goals? He was nowhere to be found. Havertz was also unlucky in finishing several times in the quarter-final defeat against Spain.
Nagelsmann confirms that the most successful goalscorer in the DFB squad (19 goals in 52 international matches) is world-class in several positions. The national coach concludes: “Kai is at a very good age and has the potential to help shape the image of the team.” For him, Havertz is an important building block for the 2026 World Cup.
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Captain Joshua Kimmich would “be happy” for his deputy to score any goal, as he said after the Nations League opener against Hungary. But even so, Havertz is “unreplaceable for us at the moment” in attack. Perhaps Havertz will break the deadlock in Amsterdam.
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