From World Cup snub to instant hero! Bayern jewel scores on his first Germany start
What a way to announce yourself on the international stage! Tom Bischof needed less than a half of football to score his first goal for Germany in his very first start for the national team.
Details: The 21 year old Bayern Munich midfielder opened the scoring in the 39th minute of the Nations League third round clash against Serbia at the Allianz Arena in Munich. It is only Bischof's second cap for the senior team: he debuted back in June 2025, coming off the bench against France, and tonight Jürgen Klopp trusted him with a place in the starting XI for the first time.
The goal could hardly have come at a better moment for Germany. Klopp's rebuilding project stumbled out of the blocks: a 1:1 draw with the Netherlands in Amsterdam was followed by a shock 0:1 home defeat to Greece, leaving the four time world champions winless in four consecutive matches and whistled by their own fans. For the Serbia game, the coach rotated heavily, handing debuts to goalkeeper Jonas Urbig and forward Derry Scherhant, while Serge Gnabry took the captain's armband. Amid all that experimentation, it is Bischof who seized the spotlight. The story is made even sweeter by the context: in May, the youngster was left out of Germany's 26 man squad for the 2026 World Cup, a snub he answered with a strong season at Bayern, where he won the Bundesliga, the DFB Pokal and the Supercup, took over the iconic number 8 shirt and scored his first goals for the club with a brace in the dramatic 3:2 win at Freiburg in April. Mostly used as a makeshift full back by Vincent Kompany, tonight he started in his natural midfield role alongside Aleksandar Pavlovic, and delivered immediately.
It's worth noting that Bischof joined Bayern from Hoffenheim on a free transfer in the summer of 2025 and is under contract in Munich until June 2029. If he keeps scoring like this, Klopp's 44 player audition may have already found its biggest winner.
Reminder: “Someone simply has asthma.” Klopp wittily responds to German fans' jeers
Miguel Solomons
Dailysports's expert
