17-year-old Bayern wonderkid earns praise after debut at the Club World Cup

Lennart Karl earned praise from head coach Vincent Kompany and veteran centre-back Jonathan Tah after making his professional debut against Auckland City at the Club World Cup.

At just 17 years, 3 months, and 24 days old, Lennart Karl made his senior debut for Bayern Munich, coming on at half-time in their crushing 10-0 Club World Cup opening win over Auckland City on Sunday.

Although the attacking midfielder didn’t register a goal or assist, he impressed with a confident display and was singled out for praise by his coach.

“Lenni has that ability to always be dangerous in the final third,” said Vincent Kompany after the match.

“I didn’t feel like we lost any attacking threat when he was on the pitch. That’s his strength.”

Experienced defender Jonathan Tah, who also made his Bayern debut after completing a summer move from Bayer Leverkusen, had encouraging words for the teenager as well.

“He is a good one-on-one player. What is important now is that he keeps at it, keeps working and doesn’t lean back,” said Tah.

Widely considered one of the top young prospects in German football, Karl has scored seven goals in 11 appearances for Germany’s U17 national team.