Jamal Musiala knows what people are saying. He just doesn’t listen.
The 23-year-old Bayern Munich star has been the subject of some high-profile chatter lately. Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Müller both publicly suggested that Deniz Undav should start ahead of him in Germany’s Group E opener against Curacao. It was the kind of talk that usually follows a player coming off an injury-riddled season. But Musiala isn’t sweating it.
“Believe me, I don’t watch or read anything the pundits say,” Musiala told BILD ahead of Germany’s next match against Ivory Coast. “I can easily imagine what’s being said. After all, I’ve been in the football business for quite some time. But I consciously prefer to stay away from these things that are said or written about me. I focus solely on myself.”
That kind of tunnel vision might sound like deflection. But for a guy who spent most of the 2025-26 campaign battling injuries, it’s also survival. He dealt with a serious injury that kept him off the pitch and forced him to recalibrate everything. The road back, he said, required patience more than talent.
“It was tough at times, but I’m convinced that even if it’s not always easy, you have to focus on the positive,” Musiala said. “I’ve definitely learned the most this year. Not just about football. I’ve also grown as a person. I now know that to come back from such a serious injury, you need patience. The step you take afterward is all the bigger for it.”
Germany rolled past Curacao in the opener, but Musiala knows the next test is real. Ivory Coast has more attacking firepower, and that changes the math for him personally.
Germany’s next challenge and Musiala’s role
“My overall role in our game will remain similar,” Musiala said. “The difference is that Ivory Coast have a stronger attack, so I’ll have to work even harder defensively and put in a lot of energy. But I’m enjoying it more and more these days. Winning the ball back is really fun.”
He’s not wrong. The Ivory Coast roster has enough speed and physicality to punish a team that sleeps on defensive transitions. Germany created enough chances against Curacao, and Musiala thinks that formula can work again — provided they finish when they get there.
“Up front, we have to take our chances when we get them,” he said. “If we continue playing like we did against Curacao, we should create enough chances.”
As for the pundits? Musiala’s not listening. And honestly, that might be the healthiest thing for a player carrying the weight of a nation’s expectations on a repaired body.
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