Nagelsmann believes Wirtz and Musiala can win the Ballon d’Or

Germany swept Hungary aside on Saturday night in their UEFA Nations League opener with both Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala both putting in a masterclass performance.

Niclas Füllkrug opened the scoring in the 27^th minute with Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala assisting the West Ham United forward. Germany then scored four goals in a 23 minute spell in the second half to record a 5-0 win in Düsseldorf.

Musiala doubled Germany’s lead on the night, assisted by Florian Wirtz who then got on the scoresheet himself as the roles reversed, with Musiala assisting the Bayer Leverkusen player. Musiala then assisted his Bayern teammate Aleksandar Pavlovic for Germany’s fourth before Kai Havertz scored a fifth from the spot.

Raving about Wirtz and Musiala, Julian Nagelsmann believes the duo can follow in the footsteps of Lionel Messi (eight times Ballon d’Or winner) and Cristiano Ronaldo (five).

“Both have the potential to win the Ballon d’Or,” said Nagelsmann in his press conference. After a title winning season, Wirtz was nominated for this season’s award, but Musiala was not. Nagelsmann nicknamed the duo “Wusiala” and added that, “they have the talent, and they can do anything.”

Nagelsmann also praised the “hard work” that the duo put into each performance.

Germany travel to the Netherlands next for their Nations League game on Tuesday.

GGFN | Daniel Pinder