European Football Championship: Nagelsmann’s crucial question: Füllkrug or Havertz?

Niclas Füllkrug first grabbed Antonio Rüdiger. The top scorer gave the defense chief a warm hug at the national football team’s final training session in Herzogenaurach. The scene seemed to convey that it was good to have you back.

Shortly afterwards, Kai Havertz trotted along next to Rüdiger during the warm-up. Rüdiger may be able to play in the European Championship round of 16 against Denmark on Saturday (9 p.m./ZDF/Magenta TV) after his strain. Whether Füllkrug or Havertz will get the goal-scoring job in the starting eleven at the other end remains a bigger mystery – and an exciting question for the fans.

What does Julian Nagelsmann think? And how will he decide? The tournament so far provides arguments for both options.

This speaks for Füllkrug:

– The goal ratio: 13 goals in 19 international matches. That’s a very good result. When Füllkrug plays, he almost always scores. Four tournament goals in five matches at the World Cup and European Championships are the next statistical figure. He scored all four as a substitute. The calculation: more playing time, more goals. Why shouldn’t he score more often in 90 minutes?

– The momentum: Nagelsmann has a good feeling for that certain something, for the flow. And who is floating through this European Championship if not the colossus Füllkrug? It feels “a bit like a summer fairy tale,” said the 31-year-old. The national coach should not waste this energy.

– The fan factor: sold-out stadium. South stand. And the Dortmund local hero on the pitch. That gives a boost and electrifies the fans. The majority of them are in favor of their “fullness” anyway, the professional you can touch. Nagelsmann could release special emotions.

This speaks for Havertz:

– The performance: Havertz’s quality is beyond question. He put in good performances in all three group matches and took responsibility for the penalty against Scotland. Denying him his 50th international match now doesn’t fit in with Nagelsmann’s personnel strategy at all. And it would also be a bad signal to a team that lives by the role philosophy.

Even Füllkrug credibly admits: “People here understand very, very strongly that the bigger picture is more important,” he said. And: “I would immediately sign up to become European champion now, even if I continue to come off the bench.”

– The tactics: With his technique, Havertz fits the profile perfectly against bulky Danes. Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz benefit from the Arsenal attacker. Füllkrug can then finish off tired Danes. It doesn’t have to be Havertz or Füllkrug in the course of the game. Both would be sure to take penalties.

– The fan factor: It sounds strange. But the emotions of the spectators are an argument for Havertz as the starting striker and Füllkrug as the joker. Assuming things aren’t going well, his substitution would be a special signal, a wake-up call. The noise level would be enormous, the team would be spurred on. Füllkrug is Nagelsmann’s bargaining chip.

… or do both play in the end?

– the Wirtz factor: Nagelsmann brought on the joker Füllkrug four times this year for the starting eleven player Havertz. But it has also been different. In the final phase of the European Championship test against Greece, both were on the pitch – the game was won 2-1 late on. Against Switzerland, too, Havertz and Füllkrug were on the attack at the end, and Füllkrug headed the late 1-1 equalizer. So the variant is not unthinkable: Füllkrug up front, Havertz hanging.

But who would have to go? Florian Wirtz, who declined after his turbo start against Scotland (5:1)? Sporting director Rudi Völler does not see this option. “I find it hard to imagine him not playing at the moment,” he said of Wirtz. So the question remains: Füllkrug or Havertz?