Not too long ago, legendary Germany goalkeeper Oliver Kahn started a discussion when he suggested Jamal Musiala should skip the 2026 World Cup. Musiala’s devastating ankle injury last summer in action for Bayern Munich kept him out of action entirely until early 2026 and sees him still far from full match fitness less than 2 months before the start of the tournament (at the time of writing). These fitness concerns after such a terrible injury has many Bayern fans nervous about his progression and that
nervousness is shared by many in Germany, as well, as they hope for one of their best players to be fit for the biggest football tournament in the world.
But Kahn believes Musiala should skip the tournament altogether to focus on his recovery. This suggestion has caused a lot of discussion in Germany and whether the argument has any validity. Ultimately, though, the decision will mainly be up to two people. Jamal Musiala himself, who had his say, and Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann, who shared his own opinion on Magenta TV (as captured by @iMiaSanMia).
“If the doctors say there’s no risk for his career, then there’s absolutely nothing that speaks against taking him to the World Cup.”
It is a refreshingly simple and logical answer. To be fair, one can assume Kahn has similar worries about Musiala’s career and made his suggestion for that reason. Now that he is playing football matches every three days again, it is hard to envision the workload of the World Cup truly hurting his career. But if there is any risk at all, Nagelsmann will likely act accordingly.
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
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