Joachim Low reveals how he convinced Jamal Musiala to play for Germany instead of England

Joachim Low has revealed how he convinced Jamal Musiala to choose Germany over England when deciding where to commit his international future.

Attacking midfielder Musiala was born in Stuttgart to a Nigerian-British father and a German mother with Polish roots.

He moved to England aged seven and played youth team football for Southampton and Manchester City before signing for Bayern Munich in 2020.

Musiala represented England in the U15, U16, U17 and U21 age groups.

However, in 2021 he made his senior international debut for Germany and has since earned 37 caps for Die Mannschaft, scoring seven goals.

Low was Germany’s head coach from July 2006 to June 2021 and claims to have played a key role in recruiting Musiala.

But Musiala, pictured scoring his seventh senior international goal during a 7-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Saturday, has played for Germany instead of England since 2021

Joachim Low, pictured (right) shaking hands with Gareth Southgate before a game in June 2021, claims that he played a key role in convincing Musiala to commit his future to Germany

‘It was the only time in my time as national coach that I made a promise to a player,’ 64-year-old Low explained during a recent appearance on SWR Sport.

Low said that during a conversation he promised Musiala ‘that he will definitely be at the 2021 European Championship in the summer if he chooses us.’ 

Musiala publicly announced he had chosen Germany over England in February 2021. He made his debut the following month.

Florian Wirtz received his first senior call-up at the same time as Musiala and the young pair now form one of the most exciting attacking partnerships in world football.

‘Both are already world class at their young age,’ said Low.

‘They are incredibly creative, strong in one-on-one situations, they are both dangerous in front of goal and have come an incredible way in the last one or two years.

‘It is impossible to imagine the team without them because they are already shaping the game and are so unpredictable for the opponents going forward.’

Musiala and Wirtz were both among the scorers on Saturday when Germany hammered Bosnia and Herzegovina 7-0.