Uli’s Eleven: Bayern exec picks his ideal starting XI for Germany at the World Cup
· Yahoo Sports
One of the common criticisms directed at honorary Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeneß is his motor mouth and his propensity to utter controversial statements. In a surprising move, the 74-year-old then channeled his inner coach and put together his preferred starting XI for Germany in an interview with Der Spiegel (as captured by X account @iMiaSanMia):
Uli Hoeneß picks his Germany XI for the World Cup from the current squad: 'Raum at right back not ideal but Kimmich should be in midfield – rates Brown – fan of Sané but he's currently out of confidence, Karl not yet ready to start, hence Leweling – fan of Havertz but Woltemade… pic.twitter.com/h62jx7Snea
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— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) May 23, 2026
Uli Hoeneß picks his Germany XI for the World Cup from the current squad: ‘Raum at right back not ideal but Kimmich should be in midfield – rates Brown – fan of Sané but he’s currently out of confidence, Karl not yet ready to start, hence Leweling – fan of Havertz but Woltemade is more of a striker’
For reference, here’s the exact lineup that Uli put on the board:
BFW Analysis
This is surprisingly a nicely built squad from the former Bayern player. Knowing current Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann, he’ll put the wrong players in the right positions or the right players in the wrong positions. However, I do have a few pointers:
- Joshua Kimmich is the logical solution for right-back but he doesn’t have the pace or the skillset to play as a proper right-back; he’s slowed down ever since his move to midfield. Then again, Germany doesn’t have decent players who can play right-back, both established and rising stars.
- Manuel Neuer should never have been called up. His fitness levels aren’t good enough anymore and he often picks up slight niggles during the windows where he is fit. Plus, he stood by his decision before during the initial approaches to drag him out of retirement then relented at the last minute. Sounds exactly like Nagelsmann. Jonas Urbig and/or Noah Atubolu should’ve been named to the squad instead.
- Jamal Musiala on the wing is the correct move, so too perhaps the move to keep Lennart Karl on the bench for now. Maybe Karl does earn a start if all goes well? Similarly, Tom Bischof should’ve been included.