Arsenal star Kai Havertz started for Germany during their international friendly against Ghana in Stuttgart on Monday night.
The Gunners ace made his long-awaited return to the national side against Switzerland last week.
Havertz impressed with his link-up play in the final third, but was ineffective in duels, losing nine out of 10 contested.
Playing as a striker, the German also lost possession 13 times and was substituted shortly after the hour mark.
Despite this, manager Julian Nagelsmann picked him to start again against Ghana yesterday.
Havertz had a much-improved showing, starting from an unfamiliar right-wing role.
He had more touches (34 to 25) and more passes (17 to 14), and provided one key pass early on.
The £65 million signing won a couple of duels and scored from the penalty spot before his half-time substitution.
The decision was rather tactical with the workload in mind, and no injury was reported after the 2-1 victory.
Havertz played as a right winger yesterday, with Nagelsmann wanting to provide more minutes to Nick Woltemade upfront.
Denis Undav came off the bench to score the winner late on, but Nageslmann hinted that he won’t be starting at the World Cup.
Havertz looks a nailed-on starter in the number nine role for Germany this summer, provided he is fit.
Arsenal return to action with an FA Cup quarter-final against Southampton on the road on Saturday night.
Martin Odegaard is ‘pushing‘ to return after a knee injury, and could make the starting XI from the number 10 position.
Havertz had a poor outing in the role against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final defeat before the international break.
We won’t be surprised if the 26-year-old starts on the bench against the Saints at St Mary’s.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com