Musiala and Wirtz: “As Germany, we have to look after the boys”

The very successful weekend in Düsseldorf ended with a special event between breakfast and lunch. On Sunday morning, the German national football team held its first training session open to fans on this international tour; several thousand fans came to the Paul Janes Stadium.

The selection has had some special days. The 5-0 (1-0) win against Hungary on Saturday evening in the Merkur Spiel-Arena showed that the spirit of optimism surrounding this team has continued even after the home European Championships. And not just during the party. On the day of the match, fans in German Football Association (DFB) jerseys streamed through the city, and the stadium was sold out with around 50,000 spectators at the first party since the tournament. Full stands in the Nations League against a world-class opponent – that would have been hardly conceivable just a short while ago. It was not just a brilliant start to the new international season and the competition in sporting terms.

The team is giving back the fans’ trust. They outclassed Hungary and made it clear that they want to offer the people something. On this exuberant football evening, the “Oh, how beautiful it is” echoed through the Arena am Rhein. The enthusiastic fans did not want to leave the stadium and celebrated the “magic duo” Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala and their colleagues extensively and exuberantly on the team’s lap of honour. This new beginning after the home European Championships has made the spectators, players and national coach Julian Nagelsmann want more.

It wasn’t long ago that experts and the grassroots in Germany spoke (quite rightly) of a deep alienation between the fans and their national team. And now? The audience and the team celebrate wildly to the evergreen “Major Tom” (“Totally detached”) by Peter Schilling. And they look optimistically to the future.

“The atmosphere was amazing”

The European Championship in our own country was an emotional state of emergency. With performances like the one against Hungary, the high spirits can at least be transferred to everyday international matches in large part. “The atmosphere was amazing. “I have the feeling that the national anthem is being sung a little louder again,” said striker Niclas Füllkrug, who scored the 1-0 goal (27th minute). The other goals were scored by Musiala (58th minute), Wirtz (66th minute), substitute Aleksandar Pavlovic (77th minute) and Kai Havertz (81st minute, penalty).

The 31-year-old Füllkrug, who just moved from Borussia Dortmund to West Ham United, is as impressed by the atmosphere as he is by the skills of his young colleagues Musiala and Wirtz. Against Hungary, the two were involved in practically every one of the five goals. At 21 years and 194 days, Musiala is the youngest player to be directly involved in four goals in a Nationals League match (one goal, three assists). Striker Füllkrug described himself as a “beneficiary” of the duo, who simply carried on where they left off at the European Championships. “The two of them are really something special.”

For Joshua Kimmich, the party against Hungary was the first as the new permanent captain. His successor Ilkay Gündogan said of Musiala and Wirtz: “They are very important for us.” Midfielder Pascal Groß described the two as “world class” and a “blessing for German football.”

With all the joy and praise this weekend, Füllkrug, as an experienced professional, also warned: “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.” Don’t be too critical if things aren’t going well. “That will be our future,” emphasised the attacker.

World Cup title in two years is the big goal

Musiala was modest as always. It’s just fun “to play with Flo, we can play around all evening after one or two goals.” His contract with FC Bayern runs until June 30, 2026. If the young star continues to play like this, it will be even more difficult than it already is for the club to keep him. In an interview with WELT AM SONNTAG, Musiala said: “I’m very happy at FC Bayern and fully focused on our goals with the club and the national team.” I’m not really thinking about where I’ll be playing in five years. Things can always change quickly in the world of football.”

It’s a long and tough road to the World Cup in two years. Musiala is convinced that with him as a key player, his team can develop into a tournament favorite by then. “We can definitely win the title in 2026,” he said in the interview. “With a little more luck, we would have made it to at least the semi-finals at the European Championships. As a team, we have made good steps recently and will continue to develop in the next two years.” We have learned from the European Championships – and we want to go far at the World Cup.”

His national coach Nagelsmann had set the World Cup title as his goal immediately after the European Championship exit. The national team has 19 games to play before then. In Düsseldorf on Saturday evening, the 37-year-old said: “If we win all 19 games, I see us as favorites. Maybe even if we win 14.” Experts such as world champion Andreas Möller and some of the former national team director Oliver Bierhoff had criticized Nagelsmann for the confident declaration of the World Cup goal or considered it quite brave. The criticism irritated the national coach.

Kroos, Gündogan, Müller and Neuer to be officially bid farewell

Captain Kimmich thinks his boss’s approach is right. “I’m a fan of setting high goals.” “It’s understandable that he has the goal in the back of his mind,” said the 29-year-old from FC Bayern. “We players should have that too.” Everyone has the big goal in mind. People can really feel the self-confidence. It was extremely good for us that the squad stayed together. We didn’t start from scratch again.” And his colleague Füllkrug said: “That’s cool. I’m glad to have a coach like that. Any ambition the coach has – I’m on board. I’m happy and proud that we’ve made such a start.”

Marc-André ter Stegen was also happy about this. The FC Barcelona captain kept a clean sheet in his first game as the new number one in the German goal. And he wasn’t angry that his predecessor Manuel Neuer didn’t congratulate him after the announcement of his new role. “It’s certainly not the easiest situation for him to watch.” “But you still have the feeling: I could still do it,” said goalkeeper ter Stegen. Neuer, Müller, Kroos and Gündogan will soon be honored and bid farewell for their great careers in the national jersey at an international match. This was announced by DFB sports director Rudi Völler.

The Nations League match against the Netherlands on October 14th in the Munich stadium, which has a capacity of 75,000 spectators, is the ideal stage. The association’s plans are pointing in this direction. On November 16th, the national team will play against Bosnia-Herzegovina in Freiburg.

On Monday, their journey continues for the first time without a home game. Check out at the Hyatt Hotel in Düsseldorf, then take the bus to Amsterdam, where they will face the Netherlands on Tuesday (8.45 p.m., RTL and in the WELT live ticker). National coach Ronald Koeman’s team also scored five goals on Saturday, winning against Bosnia-Herzegovina. It is the top game in the Nations League. “I’m looking forward to it,” said Nagelsmann. “Holland has a very, very good team and a lot of potential when it comes to individual players.” I’m excited.”