Every time Jamal Musiala has done something important in the last three years or so, a tweet from ten years ago gets shared again. A tweet about Musiala, who was 10 years old at the time, playing in an age-group game in the UK said, “This kid is ludicrously good.” This may be the best way to understand Musiala.
He was so good from a young age that kids of all ages were interested in him. At age 21, Musiala, along with a few of the others, is both the present and the future of football.
Musiala was all dancing toes, quick feet, and a gossamer touch on the first night against Scotland. He and Florian Wirtz worked together so well that the hosts’ attacking trio (with Kai Havertz as the third member) dominated the Scots and forced them to give up before halftime.
It’s fun to watch Musiala play because he can take the ball in tight areas and easily get past the other team. He’s so good that he can receive and turn inside a phone booth. As if there were an unseen glue at work, the ball stays on his feet. Think about this: He has been in the 99th percentile for successful take-ons per 90 minutes (4.07), the 92nd percentile for pass completion rate (82.7% per 90), the 93rd percentile for non-penalty goals (0.41 per 90), and the 81st percentile for touches inside the box (6.02).
These are numbers for club football (data from fbref), so some of them may be off. But this is what Germany hopes he will become in the international game as well.
When they play Hungary on Wednesday, the hosts will once again look to their star boy to add some excitement. Germany might play England at these Championships sometime in the next few weeks. The people in charge of England might have been jealous and thinking what could have been at that time. Musiala could have been theirs. There was a time when it looked like the attacking player was getting ready for a career with England.
His mother was German and his father was Nigerian-British. He was born in Germany in 2003 but moved to the South Coast of England with his family when he was seven years old. A scout from Chelsea saw Musiala playing at a neighborhood club when he was young. As soon as he joined Chelsea, he quickly moved up the ranks. At 14 and 15, he played for their Under-18 teams. He started wearing England’s famous whites when he was only 13 years old because no one doubted his skill. The Football Association kept an eye on his growth and were sure that Musiala would play for them. Jude Bellingham was also on a few teams.
But there were two rude surprises coming up. For starters, Chelsea lost him to Bayern Munich before Cоvid. The news that Musiala would play for Germany at the highest level was made in the middle of Cоvid. The attacking midfielder who had played for his adopted country at the Under-21 level had chosen to play for his home country (some reports sаy he was given a better road).
England has one in Bellingham, but Germany will be glad that Musiala made the call for them. In the short run, he will be the most important player for Germany’s home Euros win in the next three weeks.