Musiala and Moukoko
The young stars of the DFB team are “happy and proud”
Youssoufa Moukoko is part of the German World Cup squad.
© imago images/Laci Perenyi
In addition to old hands like Manuel Neuer, there are also young stars like Musiala and Moukoko in the World Cup squad. They are proud to be allowed to play.
Germany is going to the World Cup in Qatar without Marco Reus (33) and Mats Hummels (33), but Jamal Musiala (19) and Youssoufa Moukoko (17) are there. They all spoke up on social media and commented the decision of national coach Hansi Flick (57).
“Very happy and proud to be part of the squad for the upcoming #FIFAWorldCup”, explains Jamal Musiala on Twitter. His teammate Youssoufa Moukoko is much more detailed. “I just can’t believe it”, the 17-year-old writes on Instagram to a picture where he looks like he’s throwing his hands up in disbelief.
Last year, due to injuries and a lack of playing time, he “felt away from the window” at about the same time. He still tried to “always stay positive and believe in me”. Moukoko knew what he could achieve “and now just to be part of a World Cup, a goal that players dream of all their careers – makes me incredibly proud”. He was “simply incredibly happy and overwhelmed”.
For Marco Reus, the dream “unfortunately burst”
Joy and sorrow are sometimes close together: while Musiala and Moukoko were happy, Mats Hummels, who was not nominated by national coach Flick, is extremely disappointed. It was “not surprising […] one of the biggest disappointments of my career”, writes the defender on Instagram. But he keeps his fingers crossed for the team.
Marco Reus will also not go to the World Cup as a player – because of his “damaged ankle”, as he writes on Instagram. Attempts were made to enable him to participate, also in cooperation with Flick and DFB team doctor Dr. Jochen Hahne: “In the end, however, we all had to accept that it wasn’t enough. […] Unfortunately, a big dream of mine has burst!” Reus wishes him every success and also keeps his fingers crossed.