Rudi Völler Defends Joshua Kimmich Amidst National Team Debate

Sporting Director Rudi Völler downplayed the discussions about Joshua Kimmich's role in the German national team.

Like many players from the initial squad, Kimmich was sent home midway through the international break following a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands and a disappointing 0-1 home loss to Greece. Kimmich played adequately against the Netherlands but showed an unconvincing performance against Greece, with his partnership with Felix Nmecha appearing disjointed. His public request to stay with the team was reportedly ignored by head coach Jürgen Klopp.

In the subsequent match against Serbia, Tom Bischof, Alexander Pavlovic, and Florian Wirtz stood out in Germany's midfield. This naturally led to public debates among fans and experts about whether the national team might be better off without Kimmich. Klopp somewhat awkwardly addressed this topic in his press conferences and interviews.

Rudi Völler: 'Jo Kimmich is a wonderful captain'

Völler views the situation calmly and expressed his full confidence in the 31-year-old Bayern Munich player. "Jo Kimmich is a wonderful captain, a wonderful player, and will bring us a lot of joy in the coming years," Völler stated ahead of the fourth and final match of this period on Sunday evening in Thessaloniki against Greece. For this game, Klopp again selected Bischof, Pavlovic, and Wirtz in the starting lineup.

According to Völler, direct comparisons between different lineups are unfair due to the varying strengths of the opponents. "The first two games were difficult. Serbia was certainly a bit weaker, and then you look a bit better," Völler remarked.

In his opinion, the players fielded in the first two matches "would probably have won against Serbia too. I'm going out on a limb saying that. That's why the comparison is a bit unfair."