Germany playmaker Jamal Musiala says he pays no attention to the opinions of TV pundits and deliberately stays away from what is said or written about him.
The Bayern Munich man came into the World Cup not yet 100% fit after a broken leg, but scored in the opening 7-1 romp over Curaçao.
Before the game, former Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp and 2014 Germany World Cup winner Thomas Müller told Magenta TV that Deniz Undav should start ahead of Musiala.
“I don’t watch or read any of it, what experts say. I can imagine well enough what is being said anyway, I’ve been in football for a while now,” the 23-year-old told Bild’s website on Friday.
He said he “consciously prefers to stay away from these things that are said or written about me. I only focus on myself.”
For Musiala, the most important thing is “that my head is always clear. Only then can I feel fresh on the pitch.”
The four-times champions face Ivory Coast in Toronto on Saturday and Musiala is primed to start, although Undav scored and provided two assists in the opener. A win sends Germany to the knock-outs.
Stuttgart-born Klopp has also been in bother this World Cup for a joke about Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann’s future.
Long tipped to manage the national side, Klopp said Nagelsmann picks the team “for now.”
He later apologized, saying: “I could have smacked myself in the face for that, but it was already too late and I was on TV. It just slipped out without thinking.”
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