TOAi Havertz recalls the cocktail of feelings that swirled through his head in Budapest three and a half weeks ago. Arsenal could not have lost the Champions League final in more excruciating circumstances, but the only option available was to stand up straight and smile. They were due to travel by bus around Islington for the Premier League trophy parade at 2pm the following day. Was this really the moment to bask in the adulation of millions of viewers?
“It was tough, to be honest,” said Havertz, whose early goal against Paris Saint-Germain looked like a possible winner for almost an hour. “After the match, at first I thought we would call it off. The next morning everything looked different.”
Lots of joy, color and pure emotional release made the case that a North London tour was in order. “We have a fantastic season behind us,” says Havertz. “The club went 22 years without a league title and it was something to celebrate with the fans. I have to say I’ve never experienced anything like it. So many people on the streets, so many people supporting us. It’s one of my top three experiences as a professional.” Now he’s immersed in the prospect of expanding the list to four.
Havertz is at the German World Cup base in Winston, North Carolina, where he is gaining momentum. First of all, Germany has a monkey on its back. Group stage exits in 2018 and 2022 have added to the moral burden this year, but they have already been confirmed by Group E winners.
In the second of these appearances, Havertz scored twice against Costa Rica, but they were eliminated anyway. “Qatar was not successful for us as a team and for me personally,” he says. “There’s a different energy in our team now. I was quickly convinced that things would be better this year. We knew it was our duty to make sure there was no repeat of the early failure. We are Germany. But now the tournament is really just getting started.”
No one revolves around the Graylin estate, the magnificent castle-like structure where Julian Nagelsmann’s team have settled after demolishing Curacao minnows and recently beating Ivory Coast. But Germany have taken 42 shots in those matches and Havertz feels the fun is back. “We exude a real joy in the game,” he says. “We move a lot, play attackingly and create scoring chances. And we recover from missed goals.”
Havertz scored twice for Curaçao; a penalty and a neat late finish to keep the national team’s performance high. The 27-year-old has 24 goals in 60 appearances and is considered Nagelsmann’s starting centre-forward, even as substitute Denise Undave turned Ivory Coast’s game around with his brace. There have been calls for Undave to start against Ecuador on Thursday, and perhaps relate to much of Havertz’s career: there has often been a feeling that his talents have gone unnoticed by many in his home country.
“Probably because I don’t play in the Bundesliga,” he says. “It was the same at times with Toni Kroos and Ilkay Gundogan, who were abroad for years. People often say about me: ‘Havertz hasn’t scored again, he’s useless!’ And when I score they say: ‘Well, he should score, it’s about time!’ I don’t hold a grudge against anyone; it’s completely normal.”
“We radiate true joy from the game. We move a lot, play offensively and create scoring chances. And we are bouncing back after conceding goals.” Denise Ondave celebrates with Kai Havertz after scoring against Ivory Coast. Photograph: Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press/AP
Perhaps it is Havertz himself who is inclined towards the unconventional. He is a unique footballer: a combination of movement, tactical awareness and timing, whose ruthless streak is quiet rather than bombastic. “Advocates should never know where I am, where I’m going, what I’m planning, or where I’ll be at any moment,” he says during an interview organized in collaboration with Time. “That’s the worst thing for them. I try to be a ghost to the defenders.”
With that comes the dedication that has made him a coach’s dream. Mikel Arteta, in particular, rarely misses an opportunity to wax lyrical about Havertz. “I can’t just wait in the penalty area, I need to participate,” he says. “I also make runs that I know sometimes look pointless, but I create space for the players behind me.”
It helps that Havertz, for all his decisive finishing ability, has often been a plug-and-play model. He started out as a striker and mostly played in midfield until Peter Bosz started using him as an attacking striker for Bayer Leverkusen. There was even a night in 2023 when Nagelsmann fielded him at left-back in a friendly against Turkey; it spoke volumes when Havertz nevertheless scored five minutes later. “If he asked me to do it again, I would do it,” the player insists.
An unassuming demeanor can sometimes be misinterpreted as laid-back, but Havertz is simply someone who can get the job done. “I’m aware of the controversy about me being too relaxed or having the wrong body language,” he says. “It always comes up when I’m not playing very well. But I’m not one of those people who dwells on it too much. It was different before. I don’t think about it anymore….” However, sometimes the nerves show themselves. “I know you can’t see it from the outside, but I can feel it,” he says. “Before a Champions League final or a World Cup. Or before a penalty shootout. I need that tension to stay focused.”
“I’m aware of the controversy about me being too relaxed or having the wrong body language… But I’m not the kind of person who dwells on that too much.” Kai Havertz scores in the 7-1 win over Curacao. Photograph: Eric Smith/AP
Pure instinct could be the key to Germany winning their first world title since 2014. This cannot be discounted, despite a build-up fraught with question marks and the prospect of facing France in the round of 16. Havertz is in good form after a season whose early months were disrupted by knee surgery. “The last year and a half have been bad for me,” he says of problems including a hamstring injury in the 2024-25 season, making his contribution to Arsenal all the more laudable. There is a burning desire to cast aside old disappointments.
Havertz was part of the Germany squad that narrowly lost to Spain in the Euro 2024 quarter-finals amid a stir in the host nation, and he found the situation even more tense in North America. “The atmosphere is amazing. I was also very excited for the Euros in Germany. The World Cup is even bigger. The energy in the stadiums is incredible.”
Havertz says he was yet to desperately need a drink 23 minutes into the game, perhaps because Germany were barely exhausted playing in Toronto and in an air-conditioned arena in Houston. He does not support FIFA’s so-called hydration breaks. “They’re usually annoying, especially when you’ve just had two or three good situations and you feel like your flow is being interrupted,” he says. “But others decide that.”
Even more enduring in his gift is the ability to determine the destiny of Germany. When he was 17 years old and preparing for glory at Leverkusen, Havertz wanted to leave school and give up the entrance exam to the German university Abitur. He was brought to his senses by a staff member at his club, who saw it as a critical test of willpower. “At 17, you don’t think you need school anymore,” he says. “At this age, you also don’t think about injuries or how things could suddenly take a completely different turn. For me, it was a life lesson: follow through and don’t just quit.”
It may also be the model for a winning World Cup campaign and a less controversial winning tour.