Youssoufa Moukoko’s debut against Oman pushes him into fourth place in the national team’s age ranking between Uwe Seeler and Jamal Musiala. A World Cup record could follow.

Four days before his 18th birthday, Youssoufa Moukoko celebrated his debut for the national football team. National coach Hansi Flick called up the Borussia Dortmund striker for the last test match before the World Cup against Oman on Wednesday evening. Moukoko is thus the fourth youngest national player in DFB history.

The youngest international is Willi Baumgärtner, who made his debut in 1909 at the age of 17 years and 104 days against England (0:9). In second place is Marius Hiller, who played his first international match in 1910 at the age of 17 and 241 days against Switzerland (3:2). The only other player ahead of Moukoko in the DFB rankings is Uwe Seeler, who made his first appearance for the national team in 1954 against France (1-3).

Moukoko, at 17 years and 361 days, displaced Bayern professional Jamal Musiala in the DFB rankings, who made his DFB debut last year at 18 years and 27 days against Iceland (3-0) while still under national coach Joachim Löw. “He is simply making good progress. He gives a lot to a team. He is quick, he is lively, he has a good finish. We are looking forward to him,” Flick said of the young Dortmund player.

If Moukoko also plays in Qatar, he will become the youngest German footballer ever to play in a World Cup. The attacker set the age record in the Bundesliga when he made his debut for BVB on 21 November 2020 in a 5-2 win over Hertha BSC, a day after his 16th birthday.