Germany fans are hoping Bayern Munich wunderkind Jamal Musiala will slash their pre-tournament title odds once the World Cup starts next month, with the teenager having quickly become a key player in Hansi Flick's team.
Few would have thought just two years ago that Musiala, with his light frame, medium height and innocent demeanour, would become one of the leaders of the Germany team for the 2022 World Cup and Bayern's second-top scorer so far this season.
A Germany and England youth international, Musiala opted to play for his birth country at senior level with then Germany coach Joachim Loew giving him his first start last year.
In some 18 months he has become indispensable with his exceptional reading of the game in midfield, his speed, change of pace and turns and his goalscoring ability proving crucial.
"Jamal has this completeness that is just so good for us as a team," Flick has said about the player he knows since his Bayern coaching days.
Nicknamed Bambi by his Bayern team mates for his youthful appearance, Musiala is anything but a deer caught in headlights when he is on the pitch, having already bagged seven goals and four assists in the Bundesliga so far.
While he enjoys his attacking midfield role he is equally at ease as a winger or even as a defensive midfielder.
After spending eight years in Chelsea's youth teams, Musiala joined Bayern in 2019 as a 16-year-old and has never looked back.
It did not take long for Musiala to establish himself in a star-studded squad, with his creative play slicing open opponents' defences, and with an eye for goal posing a constant threat from inside and outside the box.
He quickly earned praise from his Germany team mates with Ilkay Guendogan calling him the future of German football while captain Manuel Neuer highlighted his coolness under pressure.
"He brings a certain lightness with him, he has a dynamism and is really difficult to separate from the ball," goalkeeper Neuer said after Musiala scored once and set up two more goals in a 4-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen on Sept. 30.
"He can suddenly leave two or three players behind. He is a key player for the key moments."
It is that role Germany fans hope Musiala can play in Qatar as the team look to make amends for their shock 2018 World Cup first-round exit, their earliest elimination in 80 years.
