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Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann believes both Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz have the potential to win the Ballon d'Or. He heaped praise on the duo and highlighted their partnership and improvement in recent years.
Germany beat Hungary 5-0 in their UEFA Nations League clash at the Merkur Spiel Arena on Saturday, September 8. Niclas Fullkrug opened the scoring in the 27th minute before Jamal Musiala added another in the 58th minute. Florian Wirtz (66'), Aleksandar Pavlovic (77'), and Kai Havertz (81' p) completed the scoring.
Musiala provided an incredible three assists to go along with his goal while Wirtz provided one assist. After the game, Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann said about the duo (via Bayern Strikes):
“When both are in the mood and really put their foot down, it's difficult for the opposition, they're exceptionally good. These are two footballers - when they link up with each other, it's very, very good to watch.
"Jamal has already undergone a great transformation in the past year in terms of his presence in the box. During the tournament it was very good, today it was phenomenal."
Nagelsmann added:
"Both [Musiala and Wirtz] have the potential to win the Ballon d'Or."
Wirtz has been nominated for the 2024 Ballon d'Or after an exceptional season with Bayer Leverkusen. He scored 18 goals and provided 20 assists in 49 games across competitions as they won the Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal without losing a single game.
Musiala, however, hasn't been nominated for the award this year.
France Football chief editor explains reason behind Jamal Musiala 2024 Ballon d'Or snub
After the 30-man shortlist for the 2024 Ballon d'Or was announced, one of the surprise exclusions was that of Jamal Musiala. He scored 12 goals and provided eight assists in 38 games across competitions for Bayern Munich last season. However, they were unable to win a single trophy.
Musiala was also one of six top-scorers at UEFA Euro 2024 after he scored thrice for Germany. France Football editor-in-chief Vincent Garcia has explained why the midfielder wasn't nominated for the coveted award, saying (via Goal):
"In my opinion, there are three main reasons why he was not selected by the committee. First, his lack of statistics in the Champions League, where he scored as many goals as Mathys Tel, for example. That is too few for a player of his calibre.
"He also failed to convince in important matches such as the Champions League semi-final second leg against Real Madrid or the Euro quarter-final against Spain, where his performances were not catastrophic but rather neutral.
"Bayern's season, which saw them finish in the Bundesliga at its worst since 2011, did not help him either. I am sure he will return to this list in the future."
Harry Kane is the only Bayern Munich player nominated for Ballon d'Or this year. He registered 44 goals and 12 assists in 45 games across competitions and also won the European Golden Shoe with 36 goals in 32 Bundesliga games.
