It takes a village, eh?
Bayern Munich star Joshua Kimmich took time during the post-match scramble of Germany’s Nations League quarterfinals second leg vs. Italy on Sunday to recognize a huge assist from an unexpected source.
In the 36th minute, with Germany already leading 1-0, Antonio Rüdiger placed a perfect cross onto the head of striker Tim Kleindienst that resulted in a fingertip save from Italian keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and a corner.
And a lashing — from the furious Donnarumma at his defenders, who had let the Gladbach man wander into such a threatening position.
But it would be the Paris Saint-Germain shot-stopper left red-faced mere seconds later when Kimmich, after receiving the ball quickly from a sharp ball boy, found Jamal Musiala hanging out by himself in front of goal — with Donnarumma occupied chastising his line.
Afterwards, Kimmich signed a ball and posed for pictures with the ball boy who had supplied the key assist (as captured by @iMiaSanMia):
The ball boy that reacted quickly to give the ball quickly to Joshua Kimmich for the corner before the second goal was recognized by the captain after the game
pic.twitter.com/3UHjVoOKYB— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) March 23, 2025
As for the corner…
Look at this corner
— Bavarian Football Works (@bavarianfbworks.bsky.social) 2025-03-23T20:29:16.648Z
And after what would transpire in the second half, Germany sure was lucky it had a goal like that to lean on.
The Germans escaped Dortmund with a 3-3 result, winning the tie 5-4 on aggregate and will face Portugal in the semifinals.
Looking for more thoughts and analysis on Germany’s 3-3 draw with Italy that send the Germans to the UEFA Nations League semifinals? Awesome, then check out the Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show on Patreon, Spotify, or below:
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