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.<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
At 17, he was earning \u00a3120 a week as a semi-professional in the German fourth tier while balancing his footballing career with eight-hour shifts at a factory. <\/p>\n
“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. <\/p>\n
“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. <\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“I had to do that job for the money to live because I couldn’t survive on the money from the football alone.”<\/p>\n