Germany’s midfielder #17 Florian Wirtz (L) celebrates scoring the 2-0 goal with his teammate Germany’s midfielder #08 Tom Bischof during the UEFA Nations League Group A2 between Germany and Serbia at the Allianz Arena in Munich, southern Germany on October 1, 2026. (Photo by Karl-Josef HILDENBRAND / AFP via Getty Images)
Jack Laushway Since the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, Jack has been a passionate diehard fan of both Die Mannschaft and Bayern Munich ever since. After being a longtime reader of BFW, he became a contributor on the site officially in 2020. After moving to Germany, Jack experienced the sport from many different perspectives and communities, only deepening his love for the sport. While Germany and Bayern matches have remained at the core of his coverage, these experiences have given him a unique angle to his conversations. The Canadian-born writer has travelled to Austria, Spain, Germany, and Bermuda to cover football stories with his unique perspective. Jack is also a running-host on Bavarian Podcast Works.
Fans of the German national team have become quite accustomed to seeing a midfield pivot of Joshua Kimmich and Aleksandar Pavlović. As beautiful as that might be, we have also seen some success with players like Felix Nmecha in the midfield, but nothing has seemed to truly stick with the German national team. That might have finally changed after the match against Serbia, as Jürgen Klopp might have just found his midfield. That X-factor is Tom Bischof.
It wasn’t just fans that noticed the success of this midfield though, as Florian Wirtz, who spearheaded the German midfield as the attacking midfielder, had big words of praise for his new teammate Tom Bischof. “I liked his performance a lot. I had a lot of fun playing alongside him. He’s very smart in the way he moves into the space, and is very good on the ball. He’s simply a very good player,” Wirtz told Bild about Bischof’s performance (as captured by @iMiaSanMia).
It truly feels like fans have been screaming from the rooftops to give Tom Bischof a chance, and it is becoming harder and harder for managers to ignore his talent. After this match though, Klopp will have another chance to combine Pavlović and Bischof once more, should he keep things the same. It seems like at least Wirtz would be a supporter of that idea, based on just how great he played with this setup.
While this isn’t a hit piece on Kimmich, it does feel like there is an increased level of creativity and comfort from the attack when Bischof is on the pitch. Was Serbia a weaker side than the last two matches? Yes, but if the team plays anything like they did against Serbia when they travel to Greece on Sunday, a serious conversation will have to be had.
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