Overview
- Germany goes into the final preliminary week ranked 10th and must climb to at least seventh place to reach the Final8 in Ningbo.
- The team opened the Belgrade phase with a 1-3 loss to Slovenia, leaving little margin for error across remaining matches versus Iran, Serbia and Ukraine.
- Coach Massimo Botti called qualification a rare opportunity and is using the Nations League both to chase the Final8 and to prepare the squad for the European Championship in September.
- Two players were replaced for personal and health reasons, with Simon Kohn and Anton Brehme added to the roster in place of Ruben Schott and Filip John, and Brehme is being eased back after a longer layoff.
- Germany prepared with a Kienbaum training block and a 0-3 test defeat to world No. 1 Poland, which Botti said highlighted the gap to the top teams while helping the squad develop.