Julian Nagelsmann was missing a lot of his usual starters for the German national team during the most recent international break, but he was still able to see his side to consecutive victories in the UEFA Nations League over Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Netherlands. Refreshingly, Denis Undav was the star of the show in Bosnia with his brace while debutant and fellow VfB Stuttgart teammate Jamie Leweling scored the winner in Munich against the Netherlands on his debut for the national team.
During the international break for Germany, there was also a first for Bayern Munich midfielder Aleksandar Pavlović. He was given his first full debut for the national team as Nagelsmann started him in midfield alongside former Bayern midfielder Angelo Stiller. The start more than likely would have come in the previous match against Bosnia, but Pavlović was dealing with a slight injury concern prior to kickoff and thus, did not feature in the 2-1 win and was an unused substitute on the bench.
In the 1-0 win against the Netherlands, while it was Leweling that stole the headlines, Pavlović shone quite well for himself in midfield alongside Stiller, and Bayern teammate Manuel Neuer took notice. He felt that his teammate looked like he had been playing with the senior German squad for quite some time, rarely skipping a beat.
“When you play your first games in the national team, it’s often the case that you don’t dare to do everything. But with him it was as if he played his 50th match. This coolness, ruthlessness and courage are what Julian Nagelsmann demands from the players — he wants everyone to have courage and bring their qualities onto the pitch. And that’s exactly what Aleks does,” Neuer enthused to Bild (via @iMiaSanMia).
Photo by Christian Kaspar-Bartke/Getty Images for DFB
For Bayern fans, it should come as no surprise that the midfielder fit in so well with the German national team, given how well he has performing alongside Joshua Kimmich so far this season under Vincent Kompany. He really broke through as a consistent starter last season under Thomas Tuchel and was rather unlucky to have missed out on the EUROs during the summer due to his chronic tonsillitis problem that required an operation to remove his tonsils.
Nonetheless, he will continue to get opportunities for Nagelsmann and Germany if his performances for Bayern continue on in the same vein and he could very well be starting come time for the 2026 World Cup in Canada, the United States, and Mexico.
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