When Mario Gotze scored a deadly goal in extra time against Argentina to lead Germany to a fourth star at the 2014 World Cup at long last, 11-year-old Jamal Musiala watched from his sofa alongside his parents in London.
Eight years later and three months away from his twentieth birthday, the former Chelsea youth player has established himself as a cornerstone, in Hans Flick’s starting lineup for the 2022 World Cup.
But the Bayern Munich midfielder, nicknamed “Bambi” because of his youthful features, had a disappointing start and performed poorly in the first round with Germany, which Japan was shocked 2-1 and awakened the nightmares of its group stage exit in Russia 2018.
“I feel it’s important to bring a little calm, not push yourself and have a little fun, and then it will be fine,” says Musiala, who considers calmness with the ball crucial to Germany’s attack.
tension
But this calm turned into unjustified tension in the Japan match, as Musiala looked like a teenager playing with adults.
On the other hand, Niklas Sule, his teammate, praises him after an amazing domestic season in which he scored nine goals and provided six assists in 15 league games with the Bavarian club, as he says, “Jamal is a calm man.”
The German legend, Lothar Matthews, goes further, as he believes that Musiala is so good that he can compare him to the Argentine star, Lionel Messi.
But Musiala adopts a calm approach even outside the field, as he said during the German national team’s training camp at Al-Shamal Club in Qatar, before the start of the tournament, “The comparison with Messi is a bit difficult.”
“I am focused on myself and what I can do better as a beauty,” he added.
Musiala gave such a strong performance that Bayern was not greatly affected by the absence of his veteran star, Thomas Mueller, for most of the season so far due to injury.
But the young player will be required to transfer his brilliance to the international level, when he faces tomorrow, Sunday, Spain, which achieved a landslide victory over Costa Rica in the first round, 7-0.
