He could have been a World Cup surprise on Julian Nagelsmann's "construction site": Bundesliga striker likely to decide against the DFB

Published Mar. 12, 2026 6:20 a.m. ET

GOAL

Younes Ebnoutalib could be a surprise addition to Germany's World Cup squad. Will he play for Morocco instead?

Eintracht Frankfurt centre forward Younes Ebnoutalib has apparently decided to play for Morocco's national team for the time being. This is according to a report in Bild.

According to the report, Ebnoutalib is set to be called up to the squad of the African Cup of Nations runners-up for the first time for the upcoming international matches at the end of March. Morocco will face two other World Cup participants in friendlies against Ecuador (27 March) and Paraguay (31 March).

According to Bild, Ebnoutalib's Frankfurt teammate Ayoube Amaimouni-Echghouyab will also make his debut in Morocco's senior national team squad. The 21-year-old attacking player moved from TSG Hoffenheim's second team to Eintracht at the beginning of the year and has already made several impressive appearances for SGE, including two goals.

Younes Ebnoutalib's rapid rise to national team player

Ebnoutalib once accepted an invitation to join Morocco's U15 national team, but did not play in any matches and has not been nominated for any further selections by the North Africans since then. The fact that the senior national team is now becoming a topic of discussion sooner than expected is due to the rapid development that the 22-year-old has undergone recently.

At the beginning of 2025, he moved from FC Gießen, then in the regional league, to SV Elversberg in the 2nd Bundesliga, but initially had to take a back seat to Fisnik Asllani at the Saarland club. The Kosovar was on loan to Elversberg at the time, but is now a regular at TSG Hoffenheim. In the current season, Ebnoutalib seamlessly followed in Asllani's footsteps at SVE, scoring twelve goals in the first half of the second division season.

This was followed in early January by a very special transfer to Eintracht in his hometown of Frankfurt, where he made a dream Bundesliga debut. In early January, he scored a spectacular goal in a 3-3 draw at home against Borussia Dortmund, but a few days later he suffered a torn medial ligament in his knee in Stuttgart and has been out of action ever since. His comeback is now approaching, with Ebnoutalib back in team training at SGE since last week.

Would Younes Ebnoutalib have had a chance at the World Cup with the DFB?

If the striker had continued to impress with strong performances and further goals in the final weeks of the season, it is quite possible that national team coach Julian Nagelsmann would have considered a surprise call-up for Ebnoutalib to his World Cup squad. In his highly regarded interview with kicker magazine at the beginning of March, Nagelsmann described the striker position as "at least one area we need to work on.""

With Stuttgart's Deniz Undav in fine form, he is currently pushing for a place in the German starting line-up at the World Cup, and with Nick Woltemade and Kai Havertz, two other attackers are also likely to have their tickets to the finals pretty much secured. However, Nagelsmann also wants to take a powerful striker with him, one who is particularly strong in the air, which is why Niclas Fullkrug (AC Milan), who is still in crisis, is likely to have a good chance. Ebnoutalib could have developed into an alternative to Füllkrug here.

Ebnoutalib grew up in Frankfurt and his mother is German. His father, Faissal, is Moroccan and came to Germany in 1990. He became a naturalised citizen in 1997 and won silver for Germany in taekwondo at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

With Ebnoutalib? Morocco faces Brazil in World Cup opener

For Nagelsmann, the Ebnoutalib option is now off the table for the time being. Whether he can become important for Morocco at the World Cup in the summer remains to be seen in the coming months. The situation at the dark horse and 2022 World Cup fourth-place finisher is currently undergoing some changes, as the team recently parted ways with successful coach Walid Regragui. Former U20 national coach Mohamed Ouahbi took over about three months before the start of the tournament and is expected to lead the Moroccans to a successful final round in the USA, Mexico and Canada.

Ebnoutalib's main competitors in the centre of the attack are two established internationals with a wealth of experience: Youssef En-Nesyri, who recently moved from Fenerbahce to Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia, and Ayoub El Kaabi of Olympiacos Piraeus. Another potential contender for the World Cup, Hamza Igamane (OSC Lille), is highly doubtful after suffering a serious cruciate ligament injury in the dramatic Africa Cup of Nations final defeat to Senegal (0-1 a.e.t.) in mid-January.

The World Cup begins for Morocco with a tough opener against record world champions Brazil. Given the other opponents in the group, Scotland and Haiti, reaching the knockout stages is the minimum goal for PSG star Achraf Hakimi and Co.