Jamal Musiala has revealed that he has chosen to represent Germany over England following his stunning display in the Champions League for Bayern Munich.
Musiala is eligible to play for both countries at international level, and speculation over which country he would choose had been raging throughout his breakthrough campaign at Bayern.
The 17-year-old finally announced his decision to align with Germany after netting his fourth goal of the season against Lazio in Europe, while admitting that he wasn't sure he would get the chance to play regularly if he had opted for England.
What was said?
“I’ve thought about this question a lot,” he told The Athletic . “What is best for my future? Where do I have more chances to play?
"In the end, I just listened to the feeling that over a long period of time kept telling me that it was the right decision to play for Germany, the land I was born in.
"Still, it wasn’t an easy decision for me.”
Musiala's star turn against Lazio
Musiala became the youngest English scorer in Champions League history when he produced an excellent finish from just outside the box to put Bayern 2-0 up in the 24th minute of their round of 16 first-leg tie in Rome.
Robert Lewandowski had earlier given the German champions the lead after tapping into an empty net, and Leroy Sane scored 18 minutes after Musiala before a Francesco Acerbi own goal in the second half ensured that Lazio will have a mountain to climb in the second leg on March 17.
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Musiala's goal capped a superb all-round performance which showed exactly why so much had been made of which country he would decide to represent when the 2022 World Cup qualifiers begin at the end of March.
The young playmaker thrived in a No.10 role that allowed him the freedom to drive at the Lazio defence and create many of Bayern's best openings, with his spot in Hansi Flick's starting XI now all but completely secure.
Flick told Sky Germany of Musiala's ability prior to the contest: "He can hold the ball, create a goal hazard, play the last pass. We expect him to. It is important that he matures in such games."
What's next?
Joachim Low has confirmed that Germany are now set to call up Musiala for the international fixtures in March.
The 61-year-old said, via the DFB's official Twitter account: "I am happy that Jamal Musiala has decided to play for Germany in the future. I see huge potential in him.
"Most recently, Oliver Bierhoff and I met him in Munich and told him our thoughts. Nobody can give him a guarantee [to play] at this stage, that would be dubious.
"I think that we will now call him into our squad in March, especially as it will tend to be a bigger squad again due to having three international matches within a few days. In this context, we will get to know each other better."
On the domestic front, Musiala will likely get the chance to feature again when Bayern play host to Koln in the Bundesliga on Saturday, which comes seven days before a Der Klassiker encounter against Borussia Dortmund.