„He won’t get any faster“: Matthäus recommends a position change for Kimmich | OneFootball

While Joshua Kimmich has a permanent spot in central midfield at FC Bayern, he has recently been shuttling back and forth in the national team. At the World Cup, he’s playing in defense again, and not everyone is happy about it. 

Kimmich always wants to influence the game. He does this best in the center, which is why, even as a right back, he repeatedly tends to drift into the center and distribute the ball from there.

The more dominantly the German team plays, the less of a problem this is. But if the game turns into an open back-and-forth battle, that changes. And Lothar Matthäus, Germany’s all-time leading international, also sees this as a problem.

Matthäus: Kimmich should play in the center

The 1990 World Cup champion has been closely following the 2026 World Cup and recently spoke to SportBILD about his impressions of the German team so far, as well as about Kimmich. Matthäus is certain that Kimmich would be better suited to a central role.

Even against Ivory Coast, Yan Diomande (RB Leipzig) got past him several times, and Kimmich had trouble closing down his side defensively. The Bayern star was criticizedfor this immediately after the match. 

Photo: Getty Images

“Joshua Kimmich, playing right back, already had the expected problems with pace against Diomande, who wasn’t in top form in that game. That’s how the goal we conceded came about. Kimmich isn’t going to get any faster as the tournament progresses, but our upcoming opponents will,” Matthäus explained.

That’s why he’s proposing a solution. “So here’s an idea of mine for more speed on the flanks: the speedy Nathaniel Brown could play right back instead of left back. David Raum, who is also fast, could then take over for Brown at left back, and Kimmich could move up from right back—along with Nmecha—into midfield,“ said the all-time leading national team player.

That would mean another Bayern star, namely Aleksandar Pavlovic, would be moved out of the starting lineup and take on the role of a super sub.