Sunday’s last game of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 saw Germany and Spain play out an intense 1-1 stalemate in one of the most eagerly anticipated fixtures of the group stage.
The result comes as nothing short of a ray of light for Die Mannschaft in terms of progression to the knockouts after they found themselves in a precarious situation, trailing by a second-half strike from substitute Alvaro Morata.
A loss would have seen them eliminated from the group stages for the second successive time in World Cups.
However, a late equaliser from unheralded Wolfsburg striker Fullkrüg, combined with the day’s earlier result between Japan and Costa Rica means Germany can still progress from Group E, despite the solitary point from their two games.
As it stands, should Germany get the better of Costa Rica, and Spain gets past Japan without a loss in the final round of fixtures, the 2014 winners will join the final 16.
All the jeopardy aside, it was, however, the convergence of youthful talent in the midfield at Al Bayt Stadium that caught the attention of the Twitterverse.
Gavi and Pedri featured as number eights in Spain’s midfield three while Jamal Musiala started on the left wing in Germany’s 4-2-3-1 system.
In a game of such high magnitude on the world’s biggest stage, the trio would have been applauded nonetheless for holding their own amongst Europe’s elite.
However, each of them more than shone for their nations in spite of their tender ages.
Jamal Musiala, a regular starter for Bayern, is only 19 while Barcelona duo Pedri and Gavi are 20 and 18 respectively.
This reminded fans of the delicious prospect of these three battling it out in the centre of the park over at least a good part of the next decade.
A moment in the game that occurred about an hour into it encapsulated this very idea and has been captured and circulated the world over.
It features Musiala in possession, dropping his shoulder to evade Pedri, as Gavi is seen catching up to stop the young German from progressing.
However, Musiala then chops back to his favoured right foot to keep the ball, muscling his way through considerable pressure from Gavi before winning a foul for his team amid a rapturous round of applause from the Deutschland fans.
The quick feet from Musiala and the unrelenting press from the Spanish duo are all elements that add a layer of significance to the said moment, exhibiting what the game asks of players today and where it’s headed.
Pictures of this particular midfield tussle from the game have sparked intrigue amongst fans who can’t help but be excited at the sight of three players with the highest of ceilings clash at an occasion like the World Cup this early into their careers and what it could potentially mean for the future.
Jamal Musiala’s inclusion in Hansi Flick’s squad came as no surprise after having been increasingly involved in Bayern Munich’s first team set-up in the lead-up to the World Cup.
He spent much of his formative years in England, with youth stints at Southampton and Chelsea, and remarkably, the England U-21 team.
However, Germany being his place of birth meant he couldn’t turn down the lure of playing for the 4-time world champions, not to mention the stiff competition for places in England’s squad.
It wouldn’t be inconceivable that he would still have found a place had he gone the other way with his proven track record of 27 goals and 17 assists in 100 appearances for Bayern spread across 4 seasons.
His latest opposition numbers Pedri and Gavi also feature regularly for Barcelona, although both of them play a much more withdrawn role in Xavi’s midfield.
Pedri has 93 senior appearances for the Blaugrana, contributing 12 goals while Gavi’s numbers aren’t too bad either, having appeared 66 times and twice having found the back of the net. Both have 7 assists to their name.
Barcelona have always been known for embracing the philosophy of providing young graduates of their academy, La Masia, plenty of opportunities to come through – Xavi himself being an example in his playing days.
Surprisingly, both Gavi and Pedri aren’t La Masia products and have been scouted from elsewhere in Spain – from Real Betis and Las Palmas’ academies respectively.
Gavi currently holds the Kopa Trophy of 2022, the award for the best footballer under the age of 21 set up by France Football magazine and nominated by past Ballon d’Or winners.
Pedri was the preceding winner of the award in 2021, while Jamal Musiala finished third on each of these two occasions.
The Spanish duo have also swept up the winners’ medals over the past two years in the same order in the case of the Golden Boy award, which is presented to the best under-21 players in Europe by journalists from prominent newspapers across the continent.
These honours substantiate the glittering careers that the trio have already had for club and country, and last night’s encounter only went some ways in providing a glimpse of what is set to come.