Jamal Musiala has finally decided to dump England’s national football team for the German football team less than 24 hours after setting a record in UEFA Champions League.
The 17-year-old midfielder was featured in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 match involving Bayern Munich and Lazio on Tuesday, February 23. He scored a goal in Bayern Munich’s 4-1 victory over the Italian club.
His goal for Bayern Munich made him the youngest player to score for the German club in the Champions League and the second-youngest player in the world to score in the knock-out stage of the competition.
Jamal Musiala’s performance in the Champions League match ignited the argument about the country he might choose to represent in international football.
Jamal is eligible to represent three counties – Nigeria, Germany, and England because he was born in Germany to a German mother and a British-Nigerian father.
He migrated from Germany to England when he was 7-year-old. While in the country, he joined Southampton and then Chelsea’s youth team. After a couple of years, he returned to Germany in 2019 to join Bayern’s youth team.
Jamal Musiala spent about a year with the youth team before he gained promotion to Bayern Munich senior team. Ever since he joined the Bundesliga champions ahead of the 2020-2021 season, the youngster has been unstoppable at the club.
Due to this, football enthusiasts have been urging England to invite him into the country’s squad while others have been urging Germany to do the same.
At first, it was looking like Jamal Musiala would join England because he has represented the country at all junior levels including the under-21. But in an interview he granted The Athletic, the youngster said he has decided to represent the country of his birth, Germany.
“I’ve thought about this question a lot,” he said. “What is best for my future? Where do I have more chances to play?
“In the end, I just listened to the feeling that over a long period kept telling me that it was the right decision to play for Germany, the land I was born in.
“Still, it wasn’t an easy decision for me. England is home for me. It is difficult to find words for what England means for me because I have so many memories connected to very positive emotions.
“I have a heart for Germany and a heart for England. Both hearts will keep on beating.”
This means that the German national football team will call up the youngster ahead of FIFA international break coming up in March. All things being equal, Jamal Musiala might make his first international appearance a few weeks after his 18th birthday which will come up on February 26.
