Leweling up: winger flying for club and country

From a personal perspective, Leweling can be delighted with his early-season form, which has already yielded a goal, two assists and an eye-catching display on his third senior international appearance.

After opening his 2025/26 account with a late consolation against Bayern Munich in the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup, Leweling set up Nick Woltemade’s 89th-minute equaliser in a frantic DFB Cup tie at Eintracht Braunschweig before converting Stuttgart’s fifth penalty in the shoot-out.

The 24-year-old then helped VfB get off the mark in the Bundesliga, delivering the cross from which Chema Andrés netted the winner against Borussia Mönchengladbach as Sebastian Hoeneß’s side made amends for the Matchday 1 defeat at Union Berlin.

Watch: VfB beat Gladbach 1-0 on Matchday 2

On Sunday, Leweling continued his fine start to the campaign by completing his first 90 minutes for Germany at senior level, delivering a tireless display as Julian Nagelsmann’s charges beat Northern Ireland 3-1 in Cologne.

He was perhaps a little unfortunate not to make the scoresheet himself, sending a powerful effort narrowly wide of the target early in the second half.

Nagelsmann was full of praise for Leweling after the final whistle, telling reporters: “I’m really pleased Jamie delivered a top performance. He covered an awful lot of ground and worked very hard until the last minute.

“I liked the fact that he kept trying. He created a lot and inspired the team with his enthusiasm. He played really well.”

Indeed, Leweling attempted more dribbles (eight) than any other player at the RheinEnergieStadion on Sunday evening, while only Bayern’s Serge Gnabry (five) had more touches than the former Union man (three) inside the Northern Ireland penalty area.

In a team featuring Liverpool summer signing Florian Wirtz and new Newcastle United recruit Woltemade, those figures are certainly not to be sniffed at.

Leweling was just as influential off the ball, coming out on top in seven of his 11 duels – the highest success rate of any Germany player to contest more than 10.

“There was a lot of pressure,” said Leweling, who was an unused substitute for Germany’s 2-0 defeat by Slovakia in their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying opener three days earlier. “I’m happy I could help the team.”

It was the type of all-action performance VfB boss Hoeneß and the Stuttgart fans have grown accustomed to seeing from Leweling, whose hard work during pre-season appears to be bearing fruit.

Having missed 13 games last season with a troublesome thigh injury, Leweling hired a personal trainer to help him work on his fitness during the summer holidays.

It may be early days, but Leweling – who has been given the nod over Chris Führich down the left flank – is the only Stuttgart player apart from Angelo Stiller to go the distance in both league games this term.

Watch: Leweling was on target in Stuttgart's Supercup defeat by Bayern

He has been directly involved in more attempts (seven shots, six assists) than any of his VfB team-mates, while he has also hit a league-high 15 crosses from open play – including the delivery which led to Chema’s first goal for the club.

Leweling has yet to open his account in the Bundesliga this term, but with a goal and two assists to his name already – he finished 2024/25 on five goals and four assists in all competitions – the early-season evidence suggests this could be his most successful campaign to date.

“I was pleased I was able to play 90 minutes [against Northern Ireland], but now I’m ready to get back to Stuttgart and give everything for my team,” he said.

Those words will be music to the ears of Hoeneß and the VfB fans, who have the small matter of a Baden-Württemberg derby against Freiburg to look forward to as the Bundesliga resumes this weekend.