Following the German national team's 3-3 (3-0) win over Italy, Joshua Kimmich was on an important mission. The captain pulled on a warm jacket over his sweat-drenched jersey and ran over to the touchline, where Noel Urbaniack, one of the ball boys, was standing. Kimmich asked him his name and proceeded to autograph a match ball for him as a gift. National team director Rudi Völler promised the 15-year-old a free ticket for Germany's next home game. Alongside the two Bayern players Kimmich and Jamal Musiala, Urbaniack had had a big hand in the truly unique goal which put Germany 2-0 up.
“We briefly made eye contact“
"We briefly made eye contact and he really wanted the ball, so I quickly threw it to him," the ball boy revealed. Kimmich immediately set down the ball for a corner, played a lightning-fast pass to teammate Jamal Musiala, who was completely unmarked - and all he had to do was slot the ball into the empty goal from the six-yard box. While all this was happening, the Italian defence had been busy discussing the finer points of tactics at the top of their voices. Keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma had even left his goal unguarded. The two Bayern players and the ball boy had reacted quickly, taking Italy completely by surprise with their crafty, quick-witted, and clinical move.
"The ball boy was on his toes, which is not a bad thing in a game like this," praised Kimmich afterwards before posing for a selfie with Urbaniack. "I met Joshua briefly after the game. He thanked me for the assist, so to speak,’ said the ball boy, delighted with his unforgettable evening in the stadium in Dortmund and the extraordinary goal, which has probably never been seen before in international football. World Cup winner Lothar Matthäus also saw it that way: “I've been around for a long time, but I've never seen anything like it,” said the Bayern legend, calling the behaviour of the Italians, who were embroiled in discussions, "a total failure".
"A very intelligent move by Joshua and Jamal"
The German team, on the other hand, were delighted with their two FC Bayern players: ‘"Even some of our own players didn't realise that the ball had gone in," admitted Kimmich: "It happened very, very quickly. The ball boy was on his toes." Julian Nagelsmann also didn't realise they'd scored: "It was absolutely world class from all three of them - the ball boy, Josh and Jamal. It was incredibly clever," said the head coach: "You can't rehearse something like that. The ball boy did very well, but it was down to Joshua Kimmich wanting the ball quickly. It was a very intelligent move by Joshua and Jamal Musiala."
An impressive performance from Goretzka too
As well as Kimmich and Musiala, Leon Goretzka also thrived in his first two international appearances since a 16-month break from the national team, impressing with his strong tackling and clever passing. The Bayern player organised Germany's game and set the rhythm and pace in midfield. Head coach Nagelsmann was full of praise, saying the result was "the best half from the national team under my tenure”. Germany were already 3-0 up at the break and gave Italy hardly any time to breathe. The German attack, led by Leroy Sané, pressed the defence aggressively and created a host of scoring opportunities.
Ahead of the match, the TV broadcaster Sky had revealed an impressive statistic: Joshua Kimmich had set up 13 of Germany's last 27 headed goals since 2016 - meaning he had been involved in 48 per cent of all headed goals since his debut for the national team. The 3-0, a Tim Kleindienst header from a Kimmich cross, added another goal to this statistic. The captain had scored the opener with a spot-kick.
Semi-final in Munich
The Nations League semi-final against Portugal will take place on 4 June at the Allianz Arena in Munich and will mark Joshua Kimmich's 100th international appearance: "It'll be a short but important tournament. Europe's elite have been invited," said the captain, who was involved in all five goals in both quarter-final legs against Italy, about the Final Four tournament. The final will also be played in Munich.
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