In the second World Cup group stage match against Ivory Coast (2-1), Nico Schlotterbeck was injured fairly early on, but the Dortmund player gritted his teeth—and held on until halftime. Now there are serious concerns.
Just 13 minutes into the game, Nico Schlotterbeck twisted his left foot during a tackle with Amad and had to receive treatment—including ice—on his left ankle shortly afterward. While chants of “Nico Schlotterbeck” could be heard in the stadium, Antonio Rüdiger was already warming up; however, the Real Madrid player ultimately wasn’t brought on because Schlotterbeck gritted his teeth and kept trying.
As the game progressed, however, it became apparent that the 26-year-old wasn’t moving smoothly and was clearly still in pain. During the first water break, he received further treatment, signaling that a substitution was needed. National team coach Julian Nagelsmann also spoke with Rüdiger, but Schlotterbeck remained on the field.
That remained the case until the halftime whistle—and the center back even made a good defensive play against Bonny in stoppage time of the first half (45’+4) before he was finally relieved at halftime and replaced by Rüdiger. “He has an issue with his medial ligament; he has to get an MRI tomorrow. It definitely doesn’t look all that good—unfortunately,” confirmed national team coach Julian Nagelsmann after the game on ZDF, also explaining why the center back had played for so long. “In the end, it’s always largely a tactical decision as to whether he can still perform. And he was still doing very well right up until halftime.”
Nevertheless, concerns remain within the German team regarding Schlotterbeck, who was a regular starter alongside Jonathan Tah in central defense. The duo had not lost any of the 14 international matches they had played together prior to the match against Ivory Coast—and even the match against the Elephants was won after Schlotterbeck’s substitution, thanks to a brace by Deniz Undav. In the 7-1 opening victory against Curaçao, the 26-year-old—who suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee about 14 months ago—shone with a goal and earned a 3.0 rating from *kicker*.
