Germany's World Cup striking dilemma: Undav, Burkardt, Woltemade or Kleindienst?
With Jonathan Burkardt and Deniz Undav firing on all cylinders in the Bundesliga, Tim Kleindienst returning from injury, and Nick Woltemade enhancing out his reputation in England, Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann has found himself with the best kind of selection headache ahead of the 2026 World Cup in North America next summer.
After Germany booked their ticket to next year's World Cup following their 6-0 thrashing of Slovakia, and considering there won't be another international break until towards the end of March 2026, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Nagelsmann could afford a little time off.
But Matchday 11 brought no such respite for the Germany head coach. Eintracht Frankfurt talisman Burkardt netted a brace in Die Adler's 4-3 victory away to Cologne.
Meanwhile, Undav continued his recent run of red-hot form for VfB Stuttgart with an heroic hat-trick to rescue a point in a 3-3 draw against Borussia Dortmund.
WIth both strikers' superb recent performances and the efforts of ex-Stuttgart star and current Newcastle United favourite Nick Woltemade, the question arises: who is Germany's best No.9 right now?
Starting with the former, Burkardt's brace in the Cathedral City marked the striker's seventh and eighth Bundesliga goals this season, putting him second only to Bayern Munich's Harry Kane in the goalscoring charts.
Watch: Burkardt bags double in victory over Cologne
Ruthlessly efficient in front of goal; the former Mainz man's eight league goals have come in his last eight appearances, and from a total of just 22 shots taken. On the continent too, Frankfurt's No.9 can boast a record of three goals in four UEFA Champions League appearances.
His perseverance is another quality which will no doubt endear him to Nagelsmann. Speaking after the Cologne game, Burkardt admitted with refreshing openness: “The first half was one of my worst for Eintracht," before adding: "The main thing is to keep your chin up and believe that you’ll come away with the win, and it really came off for us.”
Whilst Burkardt is setting the pace for German strikers in the Bundesliga so far this season, Undav is well and truly hot on his heels, despite having missed Matchdays 3 to 6 inclusive with a knee injury.
Watch: Undav nets second-half hat-trick against Dortmund
Since his return to fitness, Undav has netted six goals in his last five Bundesliga games, in addition to scoring against Feyenoord in the Swabians' most recent Europa League venture.
His coach, Sebastian Hoeneß, waxed lyrical about his performance against Dortmund, telling Stuttgart's official club outlets:
“What Deniz did in the second half was simply world-class. He scored three goals against [Nico] Schlotterbeck, [Waldemar] Anton, and [Emre] Can. That was an outstanding performance. Deniz is on fire. The Man of the Match award rightfully goes to him - there couldn’t be anyone else today.”
Undav, however, appeared determined not to let himself get carried away, claiming: “If I don’t score in three games, I’ll immediately be a bad player again. I have to perform consistently, score consistently, and prove myself.”
Consistency will be key for Undav if he's to break into Nagelsmann's plans, considering he wasn't called up in any of the last three international breaks.
To make matter's more difficult for Germany's head coach, another complication presented itself on Matchday 11 in the form of Kleindienst's late cameo for Borussia Mönchengladbach against Heidenheim.
Coming off the bench in the game's dying embers, the appearance marked Kleindienst's first since suffering a long-term knee injury back in May.
Prior to that set-back, however, the Foals' forward had enjoyed a stunning 2024/25 campaign, scoring 16 goals and posting seven assists in 31 Bundesliga appearances. Additionally, his impressive performances earned him a maiden Germany call-up, aged 29. It was better late than never for Kleindienst too, his international record standing at four goals in six appearances for Germany.
The striker was understandably delighted to be back in action at the weekend, telling Gladbach's official outlets after the game: “For me, coming on as a substitute was a very special moment. There’s nothing better than being able to stand on the pitch again after a long injury."
Nevertheless, Kleindienst will know there's work to be done in the coming months if he's to put his stamp on Germany's centre-forward position for the World Cup, especially given that Nagelsmann seems to currently favour Woltemade for the role. The 23-year-old has started and led the line in each of Germany's last six international fixtures, scoring four in his last three appearances.
Nagelsmann has plenty of good reasons to do so too. Woltemade has netted four Premier League goals in nine appearances so far for the Magpies this season, as well as once in the Champions League. Plus, standing at 6' 6'', he offers something different to his competitors in the air.
Whether Nagelsmann will stick by Woltemade next summer remains to be seen, but all Burkardt, Undav and Kleindienst can do is perform consistently and make the tactician's ultimate decision as tricky as possible.
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