USA instead of Marbella: Ouédraogo first in the World Cup camp

The replacement for unlucky Lennart Karl had already arrived at the World Cup camp while his national team colleagues were still enjoying a last day off in Chicago before the start of the tournament. After his surprise late nomination, Assan Ouédraogo arrived in Winston-Salem on Sunday and checked into "The Graylyn Estate" before everyone else.

The 20-year-old was greeted with a warm "Welcome to Graylyn" in the feudal team hotel. The RB Leipzig professional footballer was later chauffeured around the extensive grounds in a golf cart, which the entire DFB squad led by national coach Julian Nagelsmann will only move into today.

Why Ouédraogo? And not El Mala?

Why Ouédraogo? And why not someone like Cologne shooting star Said El Mala? Many fans - and experts - asked themselves these questions. "Yes, it was surprising for me too. But Julian Nagelsmann certainly had something in mind," said record international Lothar Matthäus.

If you don't follow the Bundesliga closely, you might even have been puzzled: Assan, who? Ouédraogo himself was surprised by the call from the national coach, who contacted him shortly after Bayern youngster Karl's thigh injury while on vacation in Spain. "When Julian Nagelsmann told me that I was now involved, I first had to process and realize the moment before I packed my things straight away," said Ouédraogo, describing the special moment in Marbella.

Packing your things, boarding the plane to the USA, World Cup instead of a vacation - it can happen that quickly in the soccer business. "It's a huge honor and makes me very proud to represent Germany at the World Cup," said the youngster.

Logical choice of Karl replacement for the national coach

The national coach did not opt for an obvious Karl replacement in the person of 19-year-old El Mala or the already proven Stuttgart player Chris Führich. Instead, the choice was clear for Nagelsmann. "We really wanted to bring in a young player and opted for the one who made the best impression with us together with Lenny."

Ouédraogo, who impresses with his pace, technique and power, which he can bring to the offensive centrally and on the outside, was a popular choice. The fact that he was still on a trip to South Africa with his club after the Bundesliga season, including a match, spoke in his favor. "He's totally in the juice and in rhythm," explained Nagelsmann.

The national team is also not new territory for the 1.92-metre-tall professional, who trained at FC Schalke 04 and took the next step in his career by moving to Leipzig in 2024. In the last World Cup qualifier against Slovakia last November, he celebrated a 14-minute debut in which he promptly scored the goal to make the final score 6:0 in Leipzig's home stadium.

Goal on international debut - number 25 from Karl

So he's already suitable as a wild card. The great debut was supposed to be his starting shot at the World Cup. But Ouédraogo also had a lot of bad luck with injuries at a young age. In his World Cup year, a knee injury slowed him down for a long time. So he can sympathize with Lennart Karl ("I'm very sorry for him"), from whom he takes the jersey number 25 as well as a place in the squad.

Maybe Ouédraogo can emulate Karl in his World Cup dream. "Assan is a player who, like Lenny, has made a great start with us," said Nagelsmann: "He's also highly talented and should play boldly and light-heartedly here." He was first in the World Cup camp once before.