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Jamal Musiala

German footballer
Date of Birth : 26 February, 2003 (Age 22)
Place of Birth : Stuttgart, Germany
Profession : Footballer
Nationality : British, German
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Jamal Musiala (জামাল মুসিয়ালা) is a German professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder and winger for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and the Germany national team. Widely regarded as one of the best players in the world, Musiala is known for his passing, dribbling, and technical skills, and is nicknamed "Bambi" for his close-control dribbling. Musiala has represented Germany at UEFA Euro 2020, the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and Euro 2024. He was the joint winner of Euro 2024's Golden Boot.

Early life

Musiala was born in Stuttgart, Germany, to his Nigerian-British father Daniel Richard and German mother with Polish roots, Carolin Musiala. He lived in Fulda until the age of seven, before moving to England with his family, where he remained for the rest of his childhood. He went to primary school at the Corpus Christi School in New Malden, and represented the school on behalf of a succession of local football clubs, including Fulham, Brentford, and Wimbledon in the EFL Utilita Kids Cup, winning the competition twice. For secondary school, he went to the Whitgift School in Croydon. He was in the Chelsea academy for the last years of his childhood. Musiala has played for both Germany and England national teams at youth level, and eventually pledged his allegiance to the German Football Association for future games in February 2021. At the age of 16, Musiala and his mother returned to Germany for personal reasons and the impending Brexit.

International career

Musiala, who was also eligible to play for Nigeria via his father, represented both England and Germany at youth international level.

Youth
In November 2020, Musiala was called up to the England U21 squad for the first time for their 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification matches. He made his U21 debut as a substitute during a 3–1 victory over the Andorra U21s at Molineux Stadium on 13 November 2020. He scored his first under-21 goal during a 5–0 win over Albania also at Molineux Stadium on 17 November 2020. After choosing to represent England's U21s, the German football association indicated that they had stopped pursuing Musiala, with German youth team coach Meikel Schönweitz stating: "He has clearly signaled to us that he currently sees his future with the English national teams. We accept his decision and wish him all the best for his sporting career." Musiala had previously indicated that he felt more comfortable playing for England at youth level than for Germany, as he grew up as a footballer at Chelsea with other English players, whereas for Germany, he did not know any of the other players.

Senior
On 24 February 2021, Musiala announced he had decided to represent his mother's nation and his birth nation Germany at the international level. He subsequently received his first call up to the senior team for the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers in March 2021, making his debut on 25 March 2021 as a 79th minute substitute in a 3–0 win against Iceland. According to former Germany coach Joachim Löw, he promised Musiala a call-up for the UEFA Euro 2020 if he chooses Germany over England. Löw said "It was the only time in my time as national team coach that I made a promise to a player: Even though he wasn't a regular at Bayern, I told him that if he chose us, he would definitely be playing at Euro 2021 in the summer."

Euro 2020
On 19 May 2021, Musiala was selected to the German squad for UEFA Euro 2020. On 23 June 2021, he became the youngest German player to feature in a major tournament for the Germany national team in a 2–2 draw with Hungary, aged 18 years and 117 days. During the match, Musiala set up Leon Goretzka's late equalizer which sent Germany through to the round of 16. He was brought on as a substitute in the round of 16 game against England, which Germany lost.

2022 World Cup qualification
On 11 October 2021, Musiala scored his first senior international goal in a 4–0 win over North Macedonia, becoming the second-youngest player to score for the Germany national team, aged 18 years and 227 days, only behind Marius Hiller, aged 17 years and 241 days, in 1910.

2022 World Cup
On 10 November 2022, Musiala received a call-up for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. On 23 November, he made his World Cup debut by starting against Japan, to become the first German teenager to feature in the competition since 1958, and the fourth youngest German player, aged 19 years and 270 days, in all World Cup participations, only behind: Karl-Heinz Schnellinger, Leopold Neumer and Edmund Conen. In the same match, Youssoufa Moukoko was subbed on in the 90th minute, to be the youngest ever, and Musiala then became the fifth. On 1 December, he completed 13 dribbles, two shy of Jay-Jay Okocha's record of 15 in 1994, in a 4–2 win over Costa Rica, yet Germany was eliminated from the group stage as they finished third in their group.

Euro 2024
On 7 June 2024, Musiala was named in Germany's squad for UEFA Euro 2024. On 14 June, he was awarded Player of the Match in the opening encounter against Scotland, where he scored a goal in a 5–1 victory, becoming the second youngest German player to score in the tournament, 67 days older than his teammate Florian Wirtz. He scored in the 68th minute for Germany against Denmark in the round of 16 game on 29 June. With three goals in the tournament, Musiala was awarded the Golden Boot in a six-way tie.

Style of play

A versatile player, Musiala can play in any attacking or midfield position, though he prefers to play on the left side of the field. Musiala is known for his close-control dribbling and can beat opponents with feints and tricks, which has earned him the nickname "Bambi". He is also known for his vision and accurate passing. Hansi Flick, his former coach at Bayern Munich, stated, "He has a great eye and feeling for choosing the right spaces. He is very confident on the ball and can play well between the lines." Musiala has been widely described as one of the best young players in the world.

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