Maximilian beier

FIFA World Cup: Ahead of their 2026 World Cup qualifier against Northern Ireland on Monday, Germany face a striker shortage that is testing the depth of the 2014 FIFA World Cup champion. While Newcastle's Nick Woltemade, Frankfurt's Jonathan Burkardt, and Dortmund's Maximilian Beier continue to search for their first national team goals, a series of injuries and setbacks have limited coach Julian Nagelsmann's options.

"We don't always have a top squad to our disposal," the German coach said, as Niclas Fullkrug, Kai Havertz, Jamal Musiala, Tim Kleindienst, and Deniz Undav remain sidelined ahead of the trip to Belfast.

Twenty-eight of the 51 goals Germany have scored in Nagelsmann's 25 games in charge came from the missing forwards. That three of the four goals in the recent win over Luxembourg came from set pieces tells its own story, as Germany's golden era of box-striker dominance appears to be fading. All three goals were scored by defenders, reports Xinhua.