{"id":766106,"date":"2026-06-28T04:39:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T04:39:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/766106\/"},"modified":"2026-06-28T04:39:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T04:39:15","slug":"lahm-calls-for-pavlovic-to-be-dropped-from-germanys-starting-xi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/766106\/","title":{"rendered":"Lahm calls for Pavlovi\u0107 to be dropped from Germany\u2019s starting XI"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">As Germany continue to limp their way through a mixed World Cup campaign, former players keep firing shots in the media. The latest barrage comes from former Bayern Munich captain Philipp Lahm, who led Germany to World Cup glory back in 2014. He took square aim at one player: Aleksandar Pavlovi\u0107.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">\u201cThe midfield was particularly shaky,\u201d Lahm told kicker (via <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/iMiaSanMia\/status\/2070916223403962872?s=20\" rel=\"nofollow\">@iMiaSanMia<\/a>), referencing the recent defeat to Ecuador. \u201cAleksandar Pavlovi\u0107 hasn\u2019t really impressed in this tournament; I\u2019ve noticed an incredible number of easy turnovers. He\u2019s not optimally positioned on the pitch.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">What is Lahm\u2019s solution to the issue? Well, you can probably guess &#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">\u201cTherefore, I see Joshua Kimmich in midfield,\u201d said the former right-back. \u201cHe\u2019s played at a high level there for about 10 years, both for the national team and Bayern Munich. He would give the team stability, and his strengths would be much more apparent. He can help the defense, just as he can help the attack with his long passes. Felix Nmecha is currently a better fit alongside him. Therefore, Pavlovi\u0107 would have to drop out of the starting eleven.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">\u201dI would recommend Waldemar Anton at right-back, and Kimmich in midfield. Playing Kimmich at right-back isn\u2019t doing him any favors. His strengths and leadership qualities are needed in midfield.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Is he right? Despite a strong season with Bayern Munich, Pavlovi\u0107 certainly struggled in his most recent outings with Germany. However, is the solution to drop him and have a midfield with Felix Nmecha next to Joshua Kimmich? Can Germany afford to take such a radical step with no more margin for error?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Germany continue to limp their way through a mixed World Cup campaign, former players keep firing shots&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":766107,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[4842,49,48,66350,561,82],"class_list":["post-766106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-bayern-munich-alumni","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-german-national-team-and-international-soccer","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/766106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=766106"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/766106\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/766107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=766106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=766106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=766106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}