Following the retirement of regulars İlkay Gündoğan and Toni Kroos and the permanent relocation of Joshua Kimmich to right-back has left Germany’s midfield rather open for anyone to stake their claim. Pascal Groß and Robert Andrich started the 5-0 win over Hungary and may be the immediate present of Germany’s midfield, but the future is not far away.
And that future is represented by Bayern Munich’s Aleksandar Pavlović and VfB Stuttgart’s Angelo Stiller, who are making their first experiences in and amongst the Germany national team. Right now, it is just necessary for them to make a good first impression. Head coach Julian Nagelsmann spoke about the two, as captured by @iMiaSanMia, and believes that they done so: “Both are making a very good impression. Both are very brave and want to have the ball. There was never a moment where I felt they were shy or hiding. They’re also funny guys and have the necessary humility. They don’t act like ‘young showmen’.”
Both were able to come off the bench and contribute against Hungary, which is another step in their integration. As long as they keep their head down and work hard, they will go far.
Looking for more thoughts and analysis of Germany’s 5-0 destruction of Hungary? Great, then check out the Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show on Patreon, Spotify, or below:
