Hype around World Cup star Deniz Undav: It suddenly was "very, very much"

With his World Cup performance so far, Deniz Undav (29) has created a real hype. Shortly before the German national team's final group match at the 2026 World Cup, the athlete talks about how everything has changed for him recently.

In two matches so far, Undav impressed with three goals and two assists. In the German team's second match against Ivory Coast, he became the national team's savior. Currently, he is Germany's top scorer and is competing with international top stars like Erling Haaland (25) and Lionel Messi (39) for one of the top positions in the tournament's scoring list - even though he just missed the podium before Thursday's match.

Deniz Undav just keeps doing his "thing"

In an interview with "Sportschau", when asked what the last few days were like for him, Undav explains: "Yes, phone exploded." For him, it was "very, very much". "Especially when I see all these English and American social media people on Instagram who are suddenly saying in English where I come from and what I've achieved here." But that's naturally also a very nice feeling. It doesn't change anything about his personality or nature, "instead I just keep doing my thing".

Against Ecuador, Undav will probably start on the bench. It's possible that he'll be used again as a substitute in the third World Cup group match. "I try to provide good input, whether from the bench or from the start", Undav explained according to the German Football Association before the match. "The most important thing is that the team wins, that's the top priority. Everything else has to take a back seat. I just try to do my job. That's worked out well in two matches now."

The kickoff for the third World Cup group match is on June 25 at 10:00 PM German time at the New York New Jersey Stadium. In Germany, MagentaTV has the rights to broadcast all 104 matches of the 2026 World Cup live. ARD and ZDF broadcast 60 matches live without a paid subscription. The match against Ecuador can be watched on channel Ersten or via the ARD media library. Other matches with German participation as well as the final will also be shown on public broadcasting channels.