Although not as disastrous as the 2018 World Cup, Euro 2020 was still very disappointing for Germany. Their inconsistent campaign came to a premature conclusion in the stage 16 stage and fell to a 2-0 defeat against England at Wembley.
And with disappointing big tournaments comes disappointment with the players who represented your country.
In the case of Jamal Musiala, we did not get a proper look at the exciting and groundbreaking child that Bayern Munich fans rate so highly – but it was without his own fault.
The 18-year-old missed Germany’s first two matches through injury and then had just nine minutes of flying time in Die Mannschaften’s last two matches. Despite his limited minutes, however, he showed us exactly what he is about.
His first appearance of the tournament came in the country’s last group F match against Hungary. With his side behind 2-1 and on the verge of bowing out of the group stage tournament, Joachim Low decided to throw Musiala into the mix with eight minutes left – not much time to save your country from embarrassment.
• Jamal Musiala • Bayern Munich • German • 18 years old
The fact that he played in 37 different matches for without a doubt the best team on the planet deserves an obscene amount of credit. ?
Welcome to our 21, @JamalMusiala ??
– 90min (@ 90min_Football) June 8, 2021
But Musiala was ready, looked sharp and creative. Can you guess what happened next?
Yes it is true.
Just two minutes after his entry into the game, Germany took a goal to make it 2-2 and secure a place in the knockout stages of Euro 2020 – and Musiala was involved.
Showed great movement in the last third, the 18-year-old hovered around and found space from which he could influence the procedure. Eventually, the Bayern man was in possession on the left wing before he easily leaned past Loic Nego’s challenge, cut down his right foot and hit a low post in Hungary’s penalty area.
The resulting ricochets led the ball to Leon Goretzka, whose throbbing strike bulged the back of the net to steal a point and take Germany to 16 years.
A titanic collision with England would occur, where Germany was simply bestowed by Gareth Southgate’s men. It was 2-0 after Harry Kane’s header in the 86th minute, and at 89 – when Musiala was brought in – the tie was over.
One minute to save your country from a 2-0 deficit at Wembley at 18? Yes, that’s a bit much to expect.
We did not see the fearless slalom, fascinating tricky and pleasing creative Musiala we have seen at the Allianz Arena in the last year or so. Of course we did not; he was given nine minutes to play.
Jamal Musiala is working on the challenge from Gergo Lovrencsics / Matthias Hangst / Getty Images
But still, the 18-year-old showed during the nine minutes of European Championship football what he can do. As soon as he gets on the ball, he makes things happen. On this occasion, his influence saved Germany from an embarrassment equal to 2018 – not bad nine minutes of work.
Low may have underused him during the two matches he was available for, but you can be sure that under ex-Bayern Munich boss Hansi Flick, Musiala will have plenty of opportunities in a German shirt to further prove why he was included in spring 21.
