Showcase cards: 14 German players chosen by six selection rules, and the 2025/26 pool
14 cards, one player per position group under each of six selection rules.
How to read it: each card shows one player’s 2025/26 numbers, his cluster in the style and quality maps, the change since the previous season and his nearest historical analogs; the rule that chose him is at the foot. The atlas below plots every player-season of 2025/26.
How the 14 cards were chosen
Why these cards: one card per position group per rule, applied in this order — (a) highest goals + assists per 90, league-adjusted, (b) youngest national-team call-up, (c) most top-9 minutes among the 2026 FIFA World Cup squad, (d) most domestic-league minutes among the 2026 FIFA World Cup squad, (e) most top-9 minutes, (f) most domestic minutes under 23 without a top-9 season. A player already chosen by an earlier rule falls through to the next name, so a later row can show the second name by its measure. Rows group the six rules; the national-team core row holds two of them.
Style mapPrimary scorersQuality mapHigh-volume scorers in top-five leagues
Author’s reading (not computed)
Primary scorers — non-penalty goal rate nearly double the forward median on starter minutes (56 %). The finishing forward of a first-choice line (Tresoldi, Undav, Mala).
Trajectory 2024/25 → 2025/26
↑change+0.24G+A / 90 adj.(one season, 1726 min → 2241 min)
Historical analogs at age 30 (d = distance on three standardised features: league-adjusted goals + assists per 90, minutes, league multiplier)
Duván ZapataCOL
ITA-Serie A 2020/21 · 2379 min · 0.66 ·
d = 0.50
Alexander SørlothNOR
ESP-La Liga 2024/25 · 1566 min · 0.74 ·
d = 0.96
Jacob MurphyENG
ENG-Premier League 2024/25 · 2360 min · 0.68 ·
d = 1.05
2026 FIFA World Cup · 2026 World Cup qualification · UEFA Euro 2024
Selected as: highest goals + assists per 90, league-adjusted among FW.
Style mapHigh-scoring attacking midfieldersQuality mapProductive midfielders in top-five leagues
Author’s reading (not computed)
Goal-scoring attacking midfielders — non-penalty goal rate three times the midfield median on starter minutes (56 %). The number 8/10 who arrives in the box (Wanitzek, Schade, Klaus).
Trajectory 2024/25 → 2025/26
↑change+0.07G+A / 90 adj.(one season, 1242 min → 1219 min)
Historical analogs at age 31 (d = distance on three standardised features: league-adjusted goals + assists per 90, minutes, league multiplier)
NeymarBRA
FRA-Ligue 1 2022/23 · 1545 min · 0.58 ·
d = 0.81
Sadio ManéSEN
GER-Bundesliga 2022/23 · 1425 min · 0.41 ·
d = 1.15
İlkay GündoğanGER
ENG-Premier League 2020/21 · 2029 min · 0.48 ·
d = 1.58
2024–25 Nations League
Selected as: highest goals + assists per 90, league-adjusted among MF.
Style mapHigh-minutes starting forwardsQuality mapHigh-volume scorers in top-five leagues
Author’s reading (not computed)
Every-week starters — three quarters of the season's minutes, assist rate about 1.5 times the forward median, scoring at median. Mostly a top-five-league footprint: the first-choice forward who links play as much as he finishes (Atik, Futkeu, Ganaus).
Trajectory 2024/25 → 2025/26
→change−0.03G+A / 90 adj.(one season, 1622 min → 1902 min)
Historical analogs at age 24 (d = distance on three standardised features: league-adjusted goals + assists per 90, minutes, league multiplier)
Lyle FosterRSA
ENG-Premier League 2023/24 · 1899 min · 0.43 ·
d = 0.10
João FélixPOR
ENG-Premier League 2022/23 · 1591 min · 0.46 ·
d = 0.43
Odsonne ÉdouardFRA
ENG-Premier League 2021/22 · 1564 min · 0.44 ·
d = 0.45
2024–25 Nations League · 2026 FIFA World Cup · UEFA European Under-21 Championship 2025
Selected as: most top-9 minutes among 2026 FIFA World Cup squad FW.
The engine room — nearly 80 % of minutes with median output: holding and box-to-box midfielders whose value is continuity and structure, not numbers (Eggestein, Leopold, El-Faouzi).
Trajectory 2024/25 → 2025/26
→change−0.04G+A / 90 adj.(one season, 2741 min → 2743 min)
Historical analogs at age 25 (d = distance on three standardised features: league-adjusted goals + assists per 90, minutes, league multiplier)
Sergio GómezESP
ESP-La Liga 2024/25 · 2738 min · 0.18 ·
d = 0.09
Romano SchmidAUT
GER-Bundesliga 2024/25 · 2834 min · 0.19 ·
d = 0.18
Maximilian EggesteinGER
GER-Bundesliga 2020/21 · 2942 min · 0.17 ·
d = 0.28
2026 FIFA World Cup · 2026 World Cup qualification
Selected as: most top-9 minutes among 2026 FIFA World Cup squad MF.
The engine room — nearly 80 % of minutes with median output: holding and box-to-box midfielders whose value is continuity and structure, not numbers (Eggestein, Leopold, El-Faouzi).
Trajectory 2024/25 → 2025/26
↓change−0.08G+A / 90 adj.(one season, 1947 min → 2656 min)
Historical analogs at age 23 (d = distance on three standardised features: league-adjusted goals + assists per 90, minutes, league multiplier)
Víctor MuñozESP
ESP-La Liga 2025/26 · 2656 min · 0.20 ·
d = 0.10
Ritsu DoanJPN
GER-Bundesliga 2020/21 · 2768 min · 0.17 ·
d = 0.29
PedriESP
ESP-La Liga 2024/25 · 2879 min · 0.21 ·
d = 0.32
2024–25 Nations League · 2026 FIFA World Cup · UEFA European Under-21 Championship 2025
Selected as: most domestic minutes among 2026 FIFA World Cup squad MF.
Style mapPrimary scorersQuality mapHigh-volume scorers in top-five leagues
Author’s reading (not computed)
Primary scorers — non-penalty goal rate nearly double the forward median on starter minutes (56 %). The finishing forward of a first-choice line (Tresoldi, Undav, Mala).
Historical analogs at age 20 (d = distance on three standardised features: league-adjusted goals + assists per 90, minutes, league multiplier)
Yan DiomandéCIV
GER-Bundesliga 2025/26 · 2472 min · 0.52 ·
d = 0.68
Elye WahiCIV
FRA-Ligue 1 2022/23 · 2513 min · 0.48 ·
d = 0.99
Rasmus HøjlundDEN
ITA-Serie A 2022/23 · 1834 min · 0.41 ·
d = 0.99
2024–25 Nations League
Selected as: youngest national-team call-up among FW.
Style mapHigh-minutes creative midfieldersQuality mapProductive midfielders in top-five leagues
Author’s reading (not computed)
Starting playmakers — assist rate three times the midfield median on 62 % of minutes, scoring nearly double. The creative hub of the middle third (Reese, Curda, Justvan).
Historical analogs at age 18 (d = distance on three standardised features: league-adjusted goals + assists per 90, minutes, league multiplier)
Jamal MusialaGER
GER-Bundesliga 2020/21 · 881 min · 0.36 ·
d = 0.62
Rodrigo MoraPOR
POR-Primeira Liga 2024/25 · 1370 min · 0.39 ·
d = 0.78
Florian WirtzGER
GER-Bundesliga 2020/21 · 2224 min · 0.30 ·
d = 1.52
2024–25 Nations League
Selected as: youngest national-team call-up among MF.
Development defenders — median age 22, about a third of minutes, output at the floor. The tier the 23–25 cohort draws from (Coulibaly, Arrey-Mbi, Pauli).
Trajectory 2024/25 → 2025/26
→change+0.02G+A / 90 adj.(one season, 2363 min → 1511 min)
Historical analogs at age 20 (d = distance on three standardised features: league-adjusted goals + assists per 90, minutes, league multiplier)
Malick ThiawGER
GER-Bundesliga 2020/21 · 1452 min · 0.04 ·
d = 0.15
Noahkai BanksUSA
GER-Bundesliga 2025/26 · 1725 min · 0.08 ·
d = 0.34
Max FinkgräfeGER
GER-Bundesliga 2023/24 · 1756 min · 0.04 ·
d = 0.35
2024–25 Nations League
Selected as: youngest national-team call-up among DF.
Style mapPrimary scorersQuality mapHigh-volume scorers in top-five leagues
Author’s reading (not computed)
Primary scorers — non-penalty goal rate nearly double the forward median on starter minutes (56 %). The finishing forward of a first-choice line (Tresoldi, Undav, Mala).
Trajectory 2024/25 → 2025/26
↑change+0.24G+A / 90 adj.(one season, 2142 min → 2488 min)
Historical analogs at age 22 (d = distance on three standardised features: league-adjusted goals + assists per 90, minutes, league multiplier)
Donyell MalenNED
NED-Eredivisie 2020/21 · 2444 min · 0.43 ·
d = 0.32
Brian BrobbeyNED
NED-Eredivisie 2023/24 · 2405 min · 0.44 ·
d = 0.35
Gonçalo RamosPOR
POR-Primeira Liga 2022/23 · 2282 min · 0.44 ·
d = 0.41
The engine room — nearly 80 % of minutes with median output: holding and box-to-box midfielders whose value is continuity and structure, not numbers (Eggestein, Leopold, El-Faouzi).
Trajectory 2024/25 → 2025/26
→change+0.03G+A / 90 adj.(one season, 2845 min → 3060 min)
Historical analogs at age 30 (d = distance on three standardised features: league-adjusted goals + assists per 90, minutes, league multiplier)
Aleix FebasESP
ESP-La Liga 2025/26 · 3160 min · 0.10 ·
d = 0.17
Julian WeiglGER
GER-Bundesliga 2024/25 · 2881 min · 0.08 ·
d = 0.36
Marcelo BrozovićCRO
ITA-Serie A 2021/22 · 2937 min · 0.09 ·
d = 0.40
Werder Bremen (GER-Bundesliga) · 11 % of the league's goals scored
Selected as: youngest home goalkeeper with minimum top-9 minutes.
* Each card renders the existing dataset; no computation beyond the join. Age on the name line is the 2026/27 season-start age (start year − birth year); the club is from the 2026/27 tables, or — labelled "latest known" — from FBref's country page where the player has no 2026/27 row. Age on the analog line follows the analog finder's convention (season start year + 1 − birth year).
The atlas: every player-season of 2025/26, one dot each
How to read it: every dot is the 2025/26 season of one of the forwards in the leagues this report covers. The two axes are the first two principal components of his five per-90 numbers (goals, assists, minutes share, age, cards) — dots that sit close together had similar seasons. The style projection uses the raw numbers, the quality projection the league-adjusted ones, so switching shows who moves when the strength of his league is counted. Colours are the clusters named below; green dots are German-eligible players, a black ring marks a national-team call-up. Hover a dot for the player, click to pin, scroll to zoom, type a name to find him.How to read it: every dot is the 2025/26 season of one of the midfielders in the leagues this report covers. The two axes are the first two principal components of his five per-90 numbers (goals, assists, minutes share, age, cards) — dots that sit close together had similar seasons. The style projection uses the raw numbers, the quality projection the league-adjusted ones, so switching shows who moves when the strength of his league is counted. Colours are the clusters named below; green dots are German-eligible players, a black ring marks a national-team call-up. Hover a dot for the player, click to pin, scroll to zoom, type a name to find him.How to read it: every dot is the 2025/26 season of one of the defenders in the leagues this report covers. The two axes are the first two principal components of his five per-90 numbers (goals, assists, minutes share, age, cards) — dots that sit close together had similar seasons. The style projection uses the raw numbers, the quality projection the league-adjusted ones, so switching shows who moves when the strength of his league is counted. Colours are the clusters named below; green dots are German-eligible players, a black ring marks a national-team call-up. Hover a dot for the player, click to pin, scroll to zoom, type a name to find him.
Every player in the 2025/26 pool — all 469, searchable
The cards above pick by rule. This is everyone with a 2025/26 season in the data: 61 forwards, 188 midfielders, 161 defenders and 59 goalkeepers. Open a name for what the report measures about him, in plain words. Rank is within his own position group on quality-adjusted production; the two arrows mark a mid-season move.
469 of 469
PlayerAgePosClubMinutesRank
No player matches. The pool is every German-eligible player with a season row in the leagues this report covers; a player in a league it does not cover is not here.
How we know
As an analytics question In numbers: 14 showcase cards chosen from the 2025/26 pool by six selection rules, one per position group per rule.
What we did We matched each player's season to his national-team call-ups and photo, then picked one player per position group under each of six rules.
Sources 2025/26 FBref, Wikipedia and Wikidata rows joined by name and birth year; six selection rules, applied in order — see below.
What this means
The cards are examples chosen by rule, not a ranking or a selection: a player appears because he comes first under a rule, and a later rule skips anyone already chosen. A card’s numbers are one season’s; the analogs show what followed for similar player-seasons, not what will follow for this player.
What this does not show
Players the rules did not pick (the full pool is in the list below), anything beyond the five season numbers, and any prediction for a player.
Data snapshot: FBref tables fetched 14 September 2026, snapshot commit ef7dbd4 · code: src/historical_analogs.py, src/render.py (_build_cards), src/pool_table.py · status: exploratory, not pre-registered · all limitations
