After the great football fun with Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz against Hungary, Julian Nagelsmann could not resist a verbal dig at the organizers of the Ballon d’Or. “If they stay like this, then at some point they will both be nominated for the Ballon d’Or. And then there is the potential for both of them to win it,” said the national coach immediately after the national team’s 5-0 festival at the start of the Nations League.
The fact that lead actor Musiala, unlike Wirtz, was not named among the last 30 candidates by the French organizers of the prestigious award actually seemed like a huge football farce late on Saturday evening in Düsseldorf. Colleague Pascal Groß described the duo as “world class” and a “blessing for football in Germany”. Captain Joshua Kimmich stated: “They are very important for us. They have already collected a few scorers.”
Füllkrug feels like a beneficiary
Against Hungary, “Wusiala” were involved in practically every one of the five goals, whether as initiators, passers or scorers. Striker Niclas Füllkrug described himself as a “beneficiary” of the duo, who simply continued where they left off at the home European Championships. “The two of them are really something special,” said the 31-year-old.
As a professional ten years older than him, the former Dortmund player had a warning note: “As Germany, we have to look after the boys a little, stay a little calm so that the two of them continue to perform at the same level, not be too critical when things aren’t going well. That will be our future,” said Füllkrug.
Musiala wants to gamble all evening
Musiala marched through the interview zone in Düsseldorf with the same ease that he showed on the pitch. With large headphones around his neck, he jumped and somehow floated. Football is easy for him. Colleague Wirtz marched quickly behind him with his designer beach bag. “It’s always fun to play with Flo, after one or two goals we can play around all evening,” said the Munich player.
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