2026 WORLD CUP: "IT DOESN'T LOOK VERY GOOD," GERMANY TREACHES OVER NICO SCHLOTTERBECK

Although Germany secured their place in the round of 16 of the World Cup by snatching victory against Ivory Coast (2-1) on Saturday in Toronto, they may have lost their central defender Nico Schlotterbeck, who left injured at halftime.

One blemish on the otherwise perfect record. By defeating Ivory Coast 2-1 in Toronto on Saturday, Germany has already accomplished its first mission: qualifying for the Round of 32 of the World Cup. After their resounding 7-1 victory against Curaçao, the Nationalmannschaft initially trailed and were outplayed by an impressive Ivorian side before making the difference after the break thanks to a brace from Deniz Undav, including a second goal deep into stoppage time (90+4). But while the German team joins Mexico and the United States among the nations already qualified, they may have lost their central defender for the remainder of the tournament.

A decisive day this Sunday

Nico Schlotterbeck was indeed injured early in the match. He received treatment from the medical staff after 15 minutes, but insisted on remaining on the pitch before being substituted at halftime by Antonio Rüdiger. After the match, his coach, Julian Nagelsmann, offered some less than encouraging news about the Borussia Dortmund player: "He has something in his medial collateral ligament. He'll have an MRI tomorrow (Sunday). Honestly, it doesn't look very good, unfortunately," the coach told ZDF. Partnered with Jonathan Tah in central defense, the 26-year-old Schlotterbeck has 29 caps for Germany. Germany will play their third group match on Thursday against Ecuador (10 p.m.).