Arsenal forward Kai Havertz has been named the official Man of the Match in Germany’s 7-1 World Cup opening win over Curaçao.
Havertz has been a lightning rod for criticism in recent years — manning the center-forward position while German fans keep looking for another, more traditional option at striker — but proved himself in Julian Nagelsmann’s setup with a two-goal performance.
His was only one of many excellent German performances on the day, but his movement and involvement in setting up Germany’s
attacking flows was on point all night, and he stepped up calmly and clinically in the moments he was called upon.
His first goal was a well-taken penalty calmly slotted into the bottom corner to give his side a two-goal cushion entering the break:
And his second showcased his excellent central linkup with substitute Deniz Undav, who played him behind the Curaçao lines to send him on the break. Still required a burst of pace and a composed, top-quality finish under pressure:
Havertz had just helped Undav score not long earlier with a hockey assist pull-back in the lead-up to the Stuttgart man’s goal:
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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