The majority of Bayern Munich players suffered early disappointment at World Cup 2022 since Germany was knocked out in the group stage. However, Bayern remains well-represented in the penultimate round of the competition.
Bayern Munich is currently the most represented club in the semi-final of the World Cup. Matthijs de Ligt was the only Bayern player on the losing side in the quarter-final, as Argentina defeated the Netherlands in a penalty shootout. Three out of four teams in the semi-final have Bayern players, so there is a good chance that at least one Bayern player will be playing in the final.
The first semi-final of the World Cup 2022 will take place later today between Argentina and Croatia. Josip Stanisic recovered from a minor injury to be on the bench against Brazil in the quarter-final over the weekend. The young defender is expected to be fit for the game against Argentina.
Stanisic is yet to play for Croatia in the World Cup, but it will be a tremendous experience for him to be involved in a terrific team on a day-to-day basis. The Bavarian faithful will be hoping to see a glimpse of Stanisic’s talent against Argentina on Tuesday.
Probably totally meaningless and simply down to coincidence. But kinda neat that Bayern + Inter will have a player in this World Cup final, just like every World Cup final for the past 40 years….
— Gabriele Marcotti (@Marcotti) December 13, 2022
The second semi-final will have four Bayern players across two teams. Noussair Mazraoui is expected to start for Morocco after missing the game against Portugal due to illness. Meanwhile, Dayot Upamecano is expected to start for France after excelling in the heart of the defense throughout the tournament.
Kingsley Coman had to be content with appearances from the bench for France since Didier Deschamps has preferred Ousmane Dembele over him on the right flank. Meanwhile, Benjamin Pavard has not played for France since the win against Australia in the first game in the group stage. It is highly unlikely that Pavard gets any sort of game time against Morocco on Wednesday, but Coman is expected to come off the bench.
Bayern will be hoping that one of their players returns to Sabner Strasse with a World Cup medal. Having a World Cup winner/winners in the squad may lead to positive energy in the dressing room, which will greatly help ahead of a challenging second half of the season.
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The entire first team is expected to resume training at the Sabner Strasse in the first week of January. Die Roten will be facing Red Bull Salzburg in a friendly game on January 13 before resuming the Bundesliga campaign against RB Leipzig on January 21.