Joshua Kimmich has reached his next personal milestone while playing for the German national team. The Bayern star will make his 115th international appearance in the Nations League classic against the Netherlands, thereby moving past Toni Kroos in the all-time DFB rankings.
Before the match in Amsterdam, both players were tied at 114 appearances. With his next game for Germany, Kimmich will now stand alone in seventh place on the list of Germany’s all-time leaders in international appearances.
For the 31-year-old, this marks another remarkable milestone in his DFB career. Kimmich made his debut for the senior national team in 2016 and has since developed into one of the most important German players of his generation.
Kimmich is still six games shy of Schweinsteiger’s record.
With 115 appearances, Kimmich now sits just behind another Bayern legend. Bastian Schweinsteiger holds sixth place with 121 international appearances. The gap is now just six matches.
Lothar Matthäus continues to reign at the top. The former Bayern pro has a total of 150 appearances for Germany. Behind him are Miroslav Klose with 137, Thomas Müller with 131, Lukas Podolski with 130, and Manuel Neuer with 128 international appearances.
Kimmich could climb further up the rankings in the coming months. After Schweinsteiger, Neuer—with his 128 appearances—would be the next player whom the Bayern pro could potentially catch up to, at least in the long run.
A Special Role Under Jürgen Klopp
Under new national team coach Jürgen Klopp, Kimmich continues to play a central role. Even before his first international match, Klopp made it clear that he plans to feature the 31-year-old as a fixture in midfield.
“We see him as a midfielder,” the national team coach recently explained. At the same time, Klopp expects his experienced leader to take on responsibility within the team and lead by example.
This is precisely the role Kimmich has long been familiar with. He now leads the German national team onto the field as captain and is one of the most experienced players on the roster.
With his 115th international appearance, he has now also surpassed Kroos in one of the DFB’s most significant statistics. The next former Bayern star is already within sight: Schweinsteiger’s record of 121 appearances.