Germany lose Schlotterbeck for the rest of the World Cup
A torn ankle ligament has ended Nico Schlotterbeck’s World Cup, leaving Germany to reshuffle their defence without one of their key men just as the knockout rounds arrive.
Jun 24, 2026
Germany have lost Nico Schlotterbeck for the rest of the World Cup. The Borussia Dortmund centre-back tore a ligament in his left ankle during the 2-1 comeback win over Ivory Coast on June 20, and an MRI scan has confirmed his tournament is over before the knockout rounds have even begun.
A first-half blow that did not look serious
Schlotterbeck went down early in the first half after a challenge with Amad Diallo. He got up, carried on, and made it to the interval before Julian Nagelsmann took no chances and sent on Antonio Rüdiger for the second period. Germany, trailing at the time, turned the game around and won it late through Deniz Undav. The result was the headline that night. The defender limping out of the dressing room turned out to be the bigger story.
The scan brought the worst news. Schlotterbeck is facing several months on the sidelines, which ends his second World Cup early and removes one of Germany’s most reliable defenders from the picture.
Germany cannot call anyone up
What makes this awkward for Nagelsmann is that there is no quick fix. World Cup rules do not let a team add a fresh face to its roster once the tournament is under way, so Germany must reshuffle from within rather than fly in a replacement.
Rüdiger is the obvious man to step in alongside Jonathan Tah, a pairing with plenty of caps between them. Waldemar Anton and Malick Thiaw give Nagelsmann cover if he wants to rotate or if another problem crops up. The depth is there. What Germany lose is Schlotterbeck’s left-footed balance and his range of passing out from the back, the kind of detail that matters more the deeper a side goes.
Staying with the group
Rather than head home, Schlotterbeck has chosen to stay on at Germany’s base in the United States. The coaching staff have welcomed the call, with the centre-back still seen as an influential voice in the dressing room even though he cannot take the field. For a squad chasing a deep run, keeping a popular figure around counts for something.
A clouded run-in
Germany have already booked their place in the round of 32, so the injury does not threaten their progress. They close the group stage against Ecuador on June 25, a match Nagelsmann is expected to use for rotation before the knockouts arrive. The bracket is where the loss will bite. Lose a centre-back of Schlotterbeck’s quality at this stage of a World Cup and there is no replacing him, only working around the gap.