After Lennart Karl was forced to withdraw from the World Cup due to injury, Lothar Matthäus revealed that he would not have selected Assan Ouedraogo as the replacement.

Medical examinations confirmed that the 18-year-old FC Bayern Munich forward suffered a muscle tear during the team’s final training session before the DFB squad’s last friendly match against the USA on Saturday (8:30 pm). As a result, his World Cup campaign has ended prematurely.

In response, national team coach Julian Nagelsmann called up RB Leipzig’s young prospect Ouedraogo to fill the vacant slot. The 20-year-old, who already has one senior international appearance, can play both on the wings and in attacking midfield, similar to Karl.

"Like Lenny, Assan joined the squad and made an immediate impact. He is an exceptional talent and should play with confidence and freedom," said Nagelsmann.

Matthäus: “There were definitely other options.”

Matthäus, however, did not fully support the coach’s selection. He pointed out that Ouedraogo missed a large portion of the previous season due to a knee injury and only regained full fitness towards the end of the campaign.

"There were certainly other players who could have been chosen. I don’t completely agree with Julian Nagelsmann’s decision. Personally, I would have gone for someone else," the record-holding German international told RTL/ntv and sport.de.

Rather than reinforcing the attack, Matthäus believes the team should have focused on strengthening the right-back position, where captain Joshua Kimmich currently lacks a natural backup.

Matthäus supports Vagnoman and Baku as alternatives

The 65-year-old suggested that Josha Vagnoman of VfB Stuttgart and Ridle Baku of RB Leipzig could have been viable choices: "Of course, you need to evaluate all possibilities, and I’m sure Julian Nagelsmann has already considered these options."

Vagnoman last featured for Germany in March, appearing as a substitute in the 2-1 win over Ghana after a three-year absence from international football. Baku, who has earned eight caps, last represented the national team in November 2025 during a 6-0 victory over Slovakia.

In terms of attacking reinforcements, Matthäus said he would have preferred more traditional wingers such as Said El Mala of 1. FC Köln or Chris Führich of VfB Stuttgart, arguing that having at least one natural wide player would have offered more tactical flexibility than Ouedraogo.