Deniz Undav heads to German national team in high spirits after scoring 17th and 18th Bundesliga goals: “I’m going to catch Harry Kane!”

Stuttgart attacker Deniz Undav’s final Bundesliga match before reporting back to Julian Nagelsmann’s German national team could hardly have gone better. Two more goals and an assist in Sunday’s 2-5 away victory over Augsburg gives the 29-year-old 18 league goals on the season. Only Bayern Munich superstar Harry Kane (31) has registered more Bundesliga tallies this year. Undav didn’t miss a chance sarcastically joke about that fact. 

Pretty much everything went right for Stuttgart during their Sunday trip to their fellow Swabians just across over the Bavarian border. Undav’s teammates and fellow German national team candidates Chris Führich and Maximilian Mittelstädt notched assists in the victory. Danish “comeback kid” Nikolas Nartey scored another goal. Angelo Stiller – who is expected to soon be joining Undav in DFB camp – collected an assist as well.

For the undisputed star-of-the-show Undav, however, perhaps the most important thing was that his Bundesliga club washed the unpleasant defeat of Thursday’s Europa League elimination out of their collective mouths. Undav himself was keen to blow off steam when speaking to DAZN after the full-time whistle.

Deniz Undav’s post match interview

“We wanted to channel that anger,” Undav said of Thursday’s loss against Porto. “I stayed calm on my first goal. [On my second] I told that Chris Führich [who missed an opportunity and accorded him a tap-in] that he better pass it. My assist [on Ermedin Demirovic’s 2-5] shows that I’m not an egomaniac.”

When reflecting on his three soccer points, everything Undav said was in jest. Those not acquainted with the German striker might not fully understand his sense of humor. Since returning to Germany in 2023, Undav has essentially served as German football’s “clown prince“. 

He also wasn’t done on this particular evening. 

“I’m still going to catch up to [Harry] Kane!” Undav remarked with a laugh. “But you can see that I’m not selfish. Other players would have taken the shot themselves to score a hat trick [on Demirovic’s 2-5], but team spirit is more important. When you pass up a chance to score yourself, what could be better?”

“When I play, I try to shine and score,” Undav concluded when assessing his forthcoming tour of international duty. “I want to play, but we’ll see what the national team coach decides.”