FC Bayern lost the top Champions League match at Arsenal. Rays of hope Lennart Karl at least conceded his first goal of the season to his opponents – and set a record in the process. Calls for the 17-year-old player to be nominated for the 2026 World Cup are getting louder.
His goal celebration said so much. He shows how much confidence and courage Lennart Karl has. After scoring a goal to make it 1-1 against FC Arsenal at FC Arsenal in the 32nd minute of the match, the most promising talent in German football today stood in front of the London stands, looked into the lenses of the television cameras, and stretched out his arms. Football world, look – here I am! Several people in England called him “Wonderkid” again that night and were impressed.
In the top match of the Champions League (1:3), the 17 year old player brought Bayern back to their feet after a 1-0 draw. His coach Vincent Kompany once again showed how much he trusts Karl by letting the Under-21 international start. Offensive star Luis Díaz is out due to suspension.
Although Karl was unable to prevent Munich’s defeat, a very intelligent and effective Arsenal exploited Munich’s temporary defensive weaknesses. But he again proved his quality. And Kompany believes these matches will help Karl mature.
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In the early stages of the game there were few offensive scenes from young professional players. He did a good job defensively. And was there at the crucial moment: Joshua Kimmich played a world-class long-range pass to Serge Gnabry, who volleyed it to Karl – who then scored with a half-volley. The best combination of Munich. It was football at a very high level.
Lennart Karl set a record
It was Karl’s sixth appearance in the starting Eleven this season. And after his strong performance in the 6-2 win against SC Freiburg in the Bundesliga, he was clearly free from major tensions in London. This boy with the back number 42 is an enrichment for Bayern, for German football.
With his goal that made it 1-1, aged 17 years 277 days, he became the youngest player to score in his first two appearances as a starting Eleven in the Champions League. At the start of the second half, Karl could have scored another goal, but his shot from inside the penalty box was saved by Arsenal goalkeeper, David Raya.
Someone wrote on social media that he skipped school when he was 17 and thought nonsense – Karl, on the other hand, simply silenced Arsenal fans. And impressed fans around the world in these weeks.
Karl was advised by Michael Ballack, former national team captain. There was something special on Wednesday night in London – as Ballack was also a DAZN pundit and commentator. A player’s agent comments directly on his client’s performance – this rarely or never happens. Ballack was already working for DAZN before Karl started professionally. “Kompany taught him how to defend,” Ballack said of Karl. “Otherwise he wouldn’t be playing on this team.”
Karl is waiting for the national team
Many experts and fans hope that national team coach Julian Nagelsmann will soon nominate Bayern’s super talent for the senior national team and take him to the 2026 World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico. “It’s surprising how he performs at such a young age and adapts to his physique as quickly as 17. That’s not normal, that’s not guaranteed,” Ballack said on DAZN. Karl had a chance to equalize after Bayern fell behind, but his pass to Michael Olise was too imprecise and was intercepted. In the final phase, Kompany then replaced him with Raphaël Guerreiro.
At FC Bayern, the bosses were very surprised by Karl’s development. “We’re happy to have Lenny with us. We had several conversations in the summer and saw this development, but no one expected it to happen so quickly,” Bayern sporting director Max Eberl said before the match. “We are very happy that it happened this way.” After the final whistle sounded, he praised Karl’s cheerful attitude and emphasized that the entire team must learn from the match.
Lothar Matthäus also thinks that Karl should go to the World Cup. “We are always afraid to promote young players – and that is a problem in Germany. Let them go, let them go,” demanded the record national player on Sky, with a view to answering critical voices regarding Karl Nagelsmann’s possible nomination.
Matthäus overlooks the fact that this may have happened too early in the career of an extraordinary talent: “There is never a promotion too early and never a national team too early.” According to him, Karl is “a very good candidate because players who have something special are needed in tournaments like this. These street footballers not only allow themselves to be forced into the system, but also do what they smell and feel at the moment.”
On this special Wednesday evening at the Emirates Stadium in London, Karl once again put together an argument for continuing with eleven appearances for Bayern. Although it was a disappointing result for his team.
Julien Wolff is a football editor. He has reported on FC Bayern from Munich since 2011, as well as on the Bundesliga and the national team. Lennart Karl’s performance and his second goal in the Champions League he experienced at the London stadium.
