Götze praises DFB youngster Brown and announces he will miss Ecuador match

Brown had started in the German team's first two group matches. In the 7-1 win over Curaçao he scored a goal, and in the 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast he was also in the starting lineup. Götze honored these performances with the words that Brown had done a "ziemlich guten Job". The youngster was playing in his first World Cup, after all, and doing so from the start, Götze praised.

On Wednesday, Brown had missed the final training session in Winston-Salem, instead completing only light running drills. Due to muscular problems in the adductor area, he is unavailable to head coach Julian Nagelsmann for the match against Ecuador. David Raum is likely to take over the left-back position.

Night shift in knockout preparation

Behind the scenes, the DFB team has already begun preparations for the first knockout match of the knockout round. Exactly when and where the match will take place depends on the results in other groups. According to Nagelsmann's own statement, he is expecting a "Nachtschicht": not until the night to Sunday, American local time, is the DFB team's opponent for the intermediate round match the following Monday (22:30/ZDF and MagentaTV) in Foxborough expected to be determined. Nagelsmann also felt "als Gruppensieger ein bisschen bestraft", as the runner-up in Germany's Group E gets more time through the scheduling to prepare for their opponent.

Frankfurt players in the tournament

Away from the DFB team, several Eintracht Frankfurt players also made headlines at the World Cup. Aurèle Amenda and Ayoube Amaimouni-Echghouyab reached the knockout round with their national teams, but did not feature in the third group matches. Amenda was not brought on in Switzerland's third match against Canada (2-1), while Amaimouni-Echghouyab, who had played a total of 17 minutes in the first two matches against Scotland and Brazil, was rested against Haiti. Morocco finished Group C in second place with a 4-2 win over Haiti, while Switzerland topped Group B.

For the German match against Ecuador, head coach Nagelsmann's concerns go beyond merely the sporting conclusion of the group stage, with personnel questions also at stake. Brown is out injured, and other players could be rested to avoid the risk of a yellow card suspension. At the fan meet-up, Götze also spoke positively about new Eintracht coach Adi Hütter, whom he had not previously known personally. "Wir hatten ein gutes Gespräch, er macht einen sehr guten Eindruck. Ich freue mich auf die Zusammenarbeit, ich glaube das passt sehr gut", said Götze. Götze had gone through a difficult phase under previous coach Albert Riera and was not in the squad for the away match in Mainz.

Further results and personnel matters

At the expanded World Cup finals with 48 teams and twelve preliminary groups, several teams on Thursday are bidding to reach the knockout phase. The USA face already-eliminated Turkey; US coach Mauricio Pochettino announced changes to the starting lineup to avoid suspensions for players at risk of yellow cards: "Für die Jungs mit einer Gelben Karte, ist es notwendig ein Risiko zu gehen? Ich denke, die normale Antwort ist, nicht mit denen von Beginn an zu spielen", said Pochettino.

In Group C, Morocco secured second place with the 4-2 win over Haiti, while Haiti was eliminated without a point. The Swiss squad, including former Frankfurt player Djibril Sow, who played 75 minutes against Canada, also advanced as group winners. Bosnia and Herzegovina, who progressed as one of the eight best third-placed teams after a 3-0 win over Scotland and Morocco's 4-2 over Haiti, saw national coach Sergej Barbarez describe it as a major achievement: "Wir wollten etwas Großartiges schaffen und das haben wir geschafft".

Eintracht's season schedule

Parallel to the tournament, Eintracht Frankfurt is planning its pre-season preparations. On August 1 (17:00), the team will face third-division side Waldhof Mannheim, followed on August 15 (15:00 local time) by a friendly against English Premier League club Brentford FC at the Brentford Community Stadium. Eintracht will play their first DFB-Pokal round match of 2026/27 on Friday, August 21 (18:00), away at Oberliga side SC St. Tönis at the Grotenburg-Stadion in Krefeld.

Recently, personnel matters off the pitch have also provided talking points: According to information from Bild, the contract of Eintracht's sporting director Markus Krösche contains a winter exit clause for a few clubs, including Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and several Premier League clubs. AC Milan had reportedly been interested in Krösche, who ultimately stayed in Frankfurt. The Athletic also reports that Tottenham Hotspur have made contact with Eintracht winger Jean-Matteo Bahoya; however, no official offer to Frankfurt has yet been made.