CHICAGO (AP) 鈥� Germany has some injury concerns going into the . It also has a nine-game win streak.
Germany played without Lennart Karl on Saturday, a day after the 18-year-old midfielder injured his thigh in training. But Leroy San茅 and Kai Havertz scored as the 10th-ranked Germans beat the U.S. at Soldier Field.
Next up for Germany is its World Cup opener on June 14 against Cura莽ao. It also has Group E games against the Ivory Coast on June 20 and Ecuador on June 25.
Karl has been ruled out for the tournament. He was coming off a breakout season with Bayern Munich, when he became the club鈥檚 .
鈥淩eally tough. … I had a good connection to Lenny. He鈥檚 a great guy, a very young guy,鈥� Germany defender David Raum said after the win over the U.S. 鈥淏ut yeah, we shared a lot of nice moments together also in this short time. I played in training always against him because he plays on the right wing. Yeah, we lose a good human being and an amazing player.鈥�
Karl wrote on Instagram that it’s 鈥渋ndescribably painful鈥� having to miss the World Cup. “Unfortunately injuries often come at the unluckiest time,鈥� he posted.
Karl was replaced on the roster by midfielder Assan Ou茅draogo, who plays with Raum on Leipzig in the Bundesliga. Ou茅draogo has made one appearance for Germany, scoring during a 6-0 win over Slovakia in November.
鈥淰ery happy, yeah, to welcome him here, and he can help us also a lot,鈥� Raum said.
With Manuel Neuer recovering from a calf muscle issue, goalkeeper Oliver Baumann started against the U.S.
The 40-year-old Neuer will go into the World Cup having not played for Germany in almost two years. He retired from the national team after the 2024 European Championship but agreed to a recall last month.
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