Former Germany captain Lothar Matthäus has questioned the roles and performances of attacking players Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz at the World Cup.
Often referred to as "Wusiala", the duo was supposed to provide creativity and flair but has been below expectations so far with one goal for Musiala and two assists for Wirtz in three matches.
The 1990 World Cup winner Matthäus told the Bild paper after Thursday's 2-1 defeat against Ecuador that neither of the two has performed in a way they wanted to and were expcted to.
Matthäus conceded to Bild that the two would have needed "a gala performance" and support from the team against robust defences like Ecuador and Ivory Coast.
But he added that they "haven't performed in the way they want to" so far in the tournament which complicates matters.
"If you lack self-confidence and are constantly overthinking things, (coach) Julian Nagelsmann will naturally have to consider how many more chances he’ll give them as this tournament progresses," Matthäus said.
Bayern Munich's Musiala is coming off a long injury break and Wirtz had a difficult first season at Liverpool.
Matthäus also reiterated that he would prefer captain Joshua Kimmich in midfield instead of right back, like at Bayern, because he would have more a bigger influence.
"Ultimately, as captain, I don’t see him – in terms of his body language and positioning – as someone who leads the team or exerts influence when things aren’t going well,’ Matthäus said.
"I don’t see Joshua on the pitch the way I’ve come to know him over the years."
Matthäus said that Kimmich should take the holding midfielder position of Aleksandar Pavlovic, who has so far underperformed at the World Cup and David Raum fill the right back vacancy.
Raum is normally a left back but has lost his place in the starting XI to Nathaniel Brown.
