Germany legend Lothar Matthaus has compared Kai Havertz to Zinedine Zidane after his star turn against Portugal on Saturday.
Having lost their opening game against world champions France, Die Mannschaft needed a result to keep them on course to qualify for the knockout rounds. They duly won 4-2 despite going behind to an early goal from Cristiano Ronaldo, with own goals from Ruben Dias and Raphael Guerreiro sending them on their way.
Havertz scored Germany’s third of the game, bursting into the box to smash one in from close range, before Robin Gosens added some gloss to the scoreline. Diogo Jota pulled one back for Portugal, but Joachim Low’s side saw out the win with relative ease.
As well as netting one himself, Havertz played a prominent role in both of Portugal’s own goals. Dias put through his own net while trying to stop the Chelsea youngster from scoring, while it was his knockdown which allowed Joshua Kimmich to force Guerreiro to make the same mistake minutes later.
Speaking to German outlet Kicker, Matthaus, who was triumphant with West Germany at Italia ‘90, said Havertz reminded him of another World Cup-winning all-time great. “I compare him to Zinedine Zidane in terms of skills, technique and overview, and anticipating a situation,” he said.
“Zidane didn’t seem quick, but he was when he hit the ball. Havertz can do that too.”
Matthaus did have some constructive criticism for Havertz, however, pointing out that he still needs to work on the finer details of his game.
“Havertz will be one of the fixed points in the national team in the next six, [seven] or eight years when [Toni] Kroos, [Thomas] Muller and [Ilkay] Gundogan have finished their careers there,” he said.
“He could score more goals and improve himself in short movements with special training. He has a good eye, good ball control, good positional play and nice technique.
“He plays intelligently and uses his body well. Havertz is on his way, but nuances will determine whether he will make it to the top [and] whether he will become an excellent player or just a very good one.”
Germany face Hungary in their final game at the group stage on Wednesday. A win would ensure them second place in Group F and a last-16 meeting with the winners of Group D, meaning they would play either England or the Czech Republic.
If France fail to win against Portugal, however, then a win would be enough for Germany to top the group. That would set up a game against one of the best third-placed sides, with the final rankings still to be determined.
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