There were absolutely no signs of a hangover from the EURO 2024 heartbreak for Germany in their UEFA Nations League match against Hungary in Düsseldorf, as Julian Nagelsmann’s side put forth a statement-setting performance, winning 5-0. It was the biggest win recorded for Germany since Nagelsmann has taken charge as manager and was their biggest win since their 9-0 win over Lichtenstein back in the fall of 2021 in a World Cup qualifier ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
What was especially refreshing for Nagelsmann was the fact that there were five different goal scorers on the night; Niclas Füllkrug, Jamal Musiala, Florian Wirtz, Aleksandar Pavlović, and Kai Havertz (penalty). It was a complete performance from Germany, particularly in the second half, as they probably should have gone into the halftime break up more than 1-0 with the amount of credible chances they had. They were far more clinical in the final third with their finishing in the second half and it seemed as if Hungary were a bit too shellshocked by a certain point to be able to register a proper response.
Bayern Munich’s Musiala was officially named man of the match for his performance, as he was once again the star of the show for Germany. He picked up right where he left off, having scored against Hungary in the meeting between the two sides at the Euros, which Germany won 2-0 in Stuttgart. In Düsseldorf, Musiala boasted a tally of one goal, three assists, seven key passes, four tackles, and two successful dribbles, which is even a bit of a low number for him.
After the match, Musiala was asked whether or not that was his best ever performance for Germany, even though it came in the Nations League as opposed to a major international tournament or tournament qualifier. “It might be, even if I feel my overall game could have been better. It’s good to bulk the stats up but what was important was that we won the game and now we can look forward to the game on Tuesday,” he replied when he was asked the burning question (via @iMiaSanMia).
Photo by Boris Streubel/Getty Images
For Musiala, he is no stranger to collecting man of the match awards for both club and country, but even if he does feel the Hungary match was his best ever for Germany, he certainly will not slow down. He has shown a drive of consistent hunger to improve and win, so it should come as no surprise that there will certainly be matches where he plays even better for his country.
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