With a strong effort against Latvia, Kai Havertz states his case for starting role against France

Chelsea star Kai Havertz continued his solid stretch of play with a tremendous effort for Germany during its win over Latvia.

In Joachim Löw’s 3-4-3 formation, Havertz is essentially competing with Bayern Munich’s Thomas Müller, Leroy Sane, and Serge Gnabry, along with with Chelsea teammate Timo Werner for a starting position. Because Löw interchanges the players and positions regularly, it is difficult to discern what direction the manager will go in for a lineup.

After the game, Havertz was happy to assert himself and state his case for a starting role.

“I arrived with great confidence. We have a great squad together, so you generally feel good on the pitch,” said Havertz (as captured by Tz).

Havertz was credited with one assist, but he was an absolute menace for Latvia to deal with. Havertz had a big playmaker role using his speed and skill and also could have been credited with a goal if not for Latvia goalkeeper Roberts Ozols being an own goal after defecting Havertz’s shot into the net.

As for the heated competition for playing time, Havertz knows Löw has a tough job ahead of him.

“We have top players, the competition is fierce. But we’re a unit, a team — whoever is selected by the coach plays,” Havertz said. “Of course I want to play from the start, but if I’m on the bench, I’ll support the team from there.”