With his double against the Ivorians, Undav became the first German to score in his first two World Cup appearances since Miroslav Klose in 2002.
That is elite company – but at one stage even taking part in a World Cup was a distant dream for Undav, who was rejected by Werder Bremen aged 14.
At 17, he was earning £120 a week as a semi-professional in the German fourth tier while balancing his footballing career with eight-hour shifts at a factory.
“When Werder told me at 14 that I didn’t have a future with them because I was too small, it broke my heart,” Undav said in an interview with Belgian outlet 7sur7.
“But I did not abandon hope. I left the family home at 17 to sign for Havelse in the fourth division in Germany where I combined playing and training with working full-time, eight-hour days operating a laser machine in a factory.
“I got up around 4am, went to the factory, then I went to training and got back home around 8pm… before doing it all again the next day.
“I had to do that job for the money to live because I couldn’t survive on the money from the football alone.”
Undav moved to Belgian second division side Union Saint-Gilloise in 2020, helping them earn promotion the following year and then scoring 25 goals in the top flight – which earned him a move to Brighton.
But after only scoring five goals in 22 Premier League appearances in 2022-23 season, he was loaned out to Stuttgart who signed him permanently in 2024.
Undav hit 19 Bundesliga goals in 2025-26 – finishing second behind Harry Kane in the top scoring list – to earn his World Cup spot.
Source:
www.bbc.com
