Lennart Karl was given his first callup to the senior Germany squad by Julan Nagelsmann for the pair of friendlies against Switzerland and Ghana, and the Bayern Munich starlet was able to make second half appearances in both matches. It’s not clear whether or not he will be in the final roster for this summer’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, but he’s made a strong case for himself with his brief appearances for Germany and just how good he’s been for Bayern Munich so far this season.
He clocked a total of 72 minutes with his appearances vs Switzerland in Basel and Ghana in Stuttgart and was lively in both despite not getting himself on the scoresheet.
VfB Stuttgart’s Deniz Undav has been the subject of intense debate in terms of whether or not he should be in the Germany squad, too, especially with the direct challenge of Newcastle United’s Nick Woltemade. Stuttgart fans have been clamoring for him to get more minutes for Germany, but he was only given 45 minutes, having played the second half and scoring the winner in the 2-1 win over Ghana. Despite helping see Die Mannschaft over the line against the Black Stars, it’s still been reported that Undav is a player fighting for his spot in the World Cup squad, but the Stuttgart striker still spoke about what it was like to play alongside Lennart Karl and what he sees in the youngster.
Karl has already drawn comparisons to Lionel Messi, but Undav likened the winger to a former French Bayern legend in his own assessment. “He’s a bit like [Franck] Ribéry. He’s a brutal player. He already has such a cool head at his age, is brave on the pitch, and brings great energy. He’s humble enough and a nice guy. I still need to get him to loosen up a bit off the pitch – but as I said: he’s a top player with brutal quality for his age. I wish I had that kind of quality at his age. Lennart will bring us a lot of joy for a very, very long time,” the Stuttgart striker explained in the mixed zone after the Ghana win (via @iMiaSanMia).
At Bayern, there’s still plenty of football left to be played as they continue to push across all three fronts and Karl has an important role yet to play, even with the expected return of Jamal Musiala. In addition to three separate pieces of silverware at stake for Bayern, he’s playing for his spot at the World Cup and is well on his way to making that dream become a reality.
