Because of Karl? DFB team causes a stir against Finland

Germany v Finland - International Friendly

Curiously, all ten of Germany's outfield starters wore pink boots during Sunday's 4-0 friendly win over Finland. Could this be the personal preference of highly rated young talent Lennart Karl?

"I don't think it was because of Lenny. But I believe Lenny was pleased as well," said national team coach Julian Nagelsmann at the post-match press conference.

Background: Bayern Munich attacker Karl, who excelled against Finland, is known to favour pink. His all-pink ensemble for the Champions League quarter-final second leg against Real Madrid in mid-April—when injury kept him sidelined—turned heads.

Karl himself later explained the reason behind the eye-catching collective boot colour—goalkeeper Oliver Baumann was the only starter not in pink: "That's the new Nike model. Adidas has also brought a bit of pink into the mix. These are top World Cup colours," explained the 18-year-old, who had teed up Deniz Undav's strike to make it 3-0 with a lovely through ball and had also played a key role in the build-up to the opener with a short corner for Joshua Kimmich.

Julian Nagelsmann

Julian Nagelsmann approves of the DFB stars' pink boots, calling them "really cool".

Nagelsmann admitted he had "naturally noticed" his players' numerous pairs of pink boots during the warm-up.

"I think it's pretty cool. I like pink – it's a great colour. It looks friendly yet still has the necessary aggression. The whole look was harmonious and went well with the light blue and dark blue of the kit," the national coach explained.

Florian Wirtz (2-0) and Jamal Musiala (4-0) added the other goals on Sunday evening in Mainz. Surprisingly, the DFB side faced Finland again on Monday morning in an unofficial training match at the DFB Campus in Frankfurt, watched by a select audience. Instead of two 45-minute halves, the contest was played as two 25-minute halves, allowing Nagelsmann to give match rhythm to players who had not featured or had only brief cameos on Sunday.

On Tuesday the squad flies to the United States for a second World Cup training camp in Chicago. The final warm-up match, against co-hosts the USA, is set for 6 June, after which the team will move into its base in Winston-Salem on 8 June. The tournament begins on 14 June, when Germany face Curaçao in their opening group game.

DFB squad: Here is Germany's World Cup schedule