Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann hails Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala after big win
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Germany have a bright future with Florian Wirtz (left) and Jamal Musiala, who are both only 21 and are already a potent attacking force for the team.
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DUSSELDORF – Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann has two reasons to be optimistic in Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala, and he believes that his team will be hard to beat when the duo “step on the gas”.
The attackers, who are both 21, turned on the style on Sept 7 by laying on goals for each other, as a new-look Germany beat Hungary 5-0 at home in the Nations League.
Wirtz and Musiala showed the future is bright for the football-mad nation after the retirements of 2014 World Cup winners Manuel Neuer, Toni Kroos and Thomas Muller, along with former captain Ilkay Gundogan.
“When both are up for it and they step on the gas, it’s going to be tough (for opponents),” Nagelsmann said.
“When they’re on the pitch and they connect with each other, it’s nice to watch.”
After 27 minutes, Wirtz found Musiala, who squared for Niclas Fullkrug to open the scoring.
Wirtz’s long pass allowed Musiala to double Germany’s lead on 58 minutes, with the Bayern Munich star returning the favour with an assist just eight minutes later.
Another talented youngster Aleksandar Pavlovic scored with 13 minutes remaining from another Musiala assist – his first goal in Germany colours – before Kai Havertz won and converted a penalty with nine minutes left.
With Wirtz and Musiala both 21, Pavlovic 20, and Havertz 25, the convincing win suggests Germany have the talent to overcome this summer’s departures, two years out from the 2026 World Cup.
“It’s fun to play with Flo (Wirtz). We need to keep building our chemistry, using every game,” Musiala told ZDF.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Fullkrug added in the post-match interview with the German broadcaster.
“I really enjoyed watching when Flo and Jamal got into it in the second half – they’re pretty hard to stop. We’re really lucky to have them – it’s a gift. It’ll be fun for every German fan watching in the next few years.”
The Germans will next travel to face the Netherlands on Sept 10, while Hungary host Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In the other match in Group A3, Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman was pleased with his side’s positive start to their campaign as they beat Bosnia 5-2, ensuring they can look forward with confidence to the big clash with Germany in Amsterdam.
The Dutch were 2-1 up at the break but allowed Bosnia to battle back to 3-2 with some 17 minutes remaining, before the Oranje went on to score two late goals for a convincing winning margin.
The home side at times produced some flashy football to the delight of the crowd at the Philips Stadion as Joshua Zirkzee, Tijjani Reijnders, Cody Gakpo, Wout Weghorst and Xavi Simons all found the net.
“We played very well in possession of the ball. Very fresh, fast, often finding the man between the lines. We certainly had a good phase after the break, but then we had to kill off the match,” said Koeman.
“When Bosnia brought it back to 3-2, you saw some doubt in our team... Their two goals came from nowhere.” REUTERS, AFP
Germany’s Niclas Fullkrug scores their first goal with help from Jamal Musiala.
PHOTO: REUTERS
