Bayern Munich star Jamal Musiala continues to make history!
After making his debut for the Bundesliga giants in June 2020, the teenager has gone on to establish himself as one of the best young players in world football, and to no one's surprise, he is becoming a mainstay of the German national team.
With 12 goals and 10 assists to his name this campaign for his club, the 19-year-old was named in Hansi Flick's final 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Fast forward to today and the attacking midfielder has reached a brilliant milestone.
The four-time World Cup winners kick off their campaign with a Wednesday showdown against Japan, with Musiala being named in the starting eleven alongside Serge Gnabry and Kai Havertz, as well as veterans Thomas Muller and Ilkay Gundogan.
Your #GER line-up to face #JPN#FIFAWorldCup #GERJPN pic.twitter.com/T0yfK42s6R
— Germany (@DFB_Team_EN) November 23, 2022
And just like that, Jamal shattered a 64-year-old record. At the age of 19 years and 270 days, the former Chelsea academy player became the youngest German player to feature in a FIFA World Cup game in over half a century.
One would have to go back all the way to 1958 to find a younger German footballer to play in a FIFA World Cup game, with that teenager being Karl-Heinz Schnellinger, who featured at the tournament in Sweden at the age of 19 years and 72 days.
19y 270d - Aged 19 years and 270 days, Jamal #Musiala is the youngest German player to appear at a World Cup since Karl-Heinz Schnellinger in 1958 (19 years 72 days) - in total, only three German players have appeared at a younger age than Musiala. Stage. #GERJPN #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/2osAqZ4Bpv
— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) November 23, 2022
This is yet another testament to Musiala's tremendous talent. The Allianz Arena sensation, who was likened to Lionel Messi by German icon Lothar Matthaus, is widely accepted as the next big thing in the beautiful game.
However, it should be noted that both Musiala and Schnellinger could be overtaken by another German player either in their Qatar 2022 opener or in another group-stage game. The reason is simple: Dortmund starlet Youssoufa Moukoko, who just turned 18, should feature in this tournament at some point after becoming the European giants' youngest debutant since 1954 when he started in their pre-World Cup friendly against Oman.
