Philipp Lahm can well imagine Lennart Karl being called up for the World Cup. The former Bayern captain and 2014 World Cup winner made it clear on the sidelines of the Legends Cup that age should not play a role in the national team – only performance is decisive
„If he plays regularly at this level at FC Bayern, every player is a candidate for the national team. There is no such thing as ‚too young‘ or ‚too old‘. But if someone performs consistently over a longer period of time, then he has the right to play for the national team,“ explained Lahm with regard to the 17-year-old attacking player
The 41-year-old is thus clearly backing the Bayern jewel. For Lahm, the main thing in the run-up to a World Cup is to develop a clear hierarchy early on. „We are Germany. We have to find a team in the run-up to the World Cup where we know: this is our team, these are our eleven, twelve, thirteen players who have to take the helm, who take responsibility for success and failure,“ Lahm continued
World champion Lahm: „Julian Nagelsmann has to find that“
In this context in particular, the former DFB captain sees no reason why a player like Karl should be left out if the performances are right. „I think you need that. Julian Nagelsmann has to find that, and then we always have a squad that can go far in the tournament, but you always have to prove that first,“ said Lahm about the task of the national coach
At the same time, he emphasized that big names alone do not determine success. „We have internationally recognized players, but you always have to see: What happens in this tournament? And how does the team find itself and perform in the decisive games?“ explained Lahm
Matthäus pleaded for Karl’s nomination
Karl is therefore not only the focus of attention at FC Bayern, but also increasingly in the DFB environment. Lothar Matthäus had recently spoken out publicly in favour of the youngster’s World Cup nomination and emphasised that Karl has skills that are rare in the German squad. Now this assessment has received prominent support
The attacking player has earned more and more playing time under Vincent Kompany in recent weeks and has attracted attention with goals and strong performances.
