2023-10-16 14:27:13
For Lothar Matthäus, a midfield duo consisting of captain Ilkay Gündogan and Joshua Kimmich remains the ideal line-up in the German national football team – but only under certain conditions. “It has to be very clear: one is the six, the other is the eight. “That can vary during the game, but not permanently,” wrote the record national player in his Sky column.
If Gündogan and Kimmich “take that to heart, it’s a dream pairing,” said Matthäus and added: “Yes, there were two wins in a row without Kimmich, but if he’s fit, Nagelsmann will let him play.”
In his debut as national coach against the USA (3-1), Julian Nagelsmann relied on Pascal Groß alongside Gündogan instead of Kimmich, who had left due to illness. The duo received a lot of praise. But Matthäus “doesn’t believe that Gündogan is flourishing because another player with leadership aspirations was missing and Groß was on the pitch instead of Kimmich. At City he also had no problem with Rodri or De Bruyne. This is all about coordination and discipline in the task.”
However, Matthäus also has the impression that Groß is “slowly settling in”. Should Nagelsmann want to continue with him in midfield, Kimmich could move back to the right back – a good solution for Matthäus. “We don’t have a trained top right-back and Kimmich is playing great there too.”
The 62-year-old sees the new beginning under Nagelsmann as positive. “The national team is improving again and that’s nice. It’s a joy to watch.”
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