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Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala has been benched for Germany’s Round of 32 knockout stage match vs. Paraguay in Foxborough and VfB Stuttgart’s Deniz Undav has replaced him. That was the one big change from the 2-1 loss to Ecuador in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The lineup: Manuel Neuer – Joshua Kimmich, Jonathan Tah, Anotio Rüdiger, Nathaniel Brown – Felix Nmecha, Aleksandar Pavlovic – Leroy Sané, Deniz Undav, Florian Wirtz – Kai Havertz
For Undav, this is a justified reward for his performances so far at the World Cup, as the Stuttgart striker has tallied three goals and two assists from the three matches in the group stages, all of which were appearances off the bench for him. After his second half heroics in Toronto against Côte d’Ivoire having scored a brace that ultimately led to Germany winning their group, there was a natural inclination for him to be rewarded with a start against Ecuador, but Nagelsmann has instead decided to make the change now — in a more important game.
For Musiala, this seems less of a punishment for lack of production and more of just being the sacrifice to get Undav into the starting eleven. Nagelsmann having Musiala as an option off of the bench to be able to change the game is certainly a luxury he’ll be relishing.
On the contrary, if Germany are able to take care of business early and generate a multi-goal lead, Nagelsmann can pick and choose Musiala’s minutes, potentially decreasing the load for a player that hasn’t been back from a long-term injury for that long, all things considered.
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