World Cup 2018: Top 10 Right-Backs in the Tournament

#1 Joshua Kimmich

Germany v Saudi Arabia - International Friendly

When Lahm retired from international football, one imagined that an unfillable hole had been created on the right side of Germany’s defence. Little did we know that a perfect replacement for Lahm was playing in 2. Bundesliga for RB Leipzig. One year later, Kimmich was signed by Lahm’s Bayern Munich and groomed as No.21’s successor.

Since then, Kimmich hasn’t looked back- becoming the best right-back in the world. Kimmich’s biggest strength (similarly to Lahm) is his passing excellence where he has a pass success percentage of 90.3% in the Bundesliga- good enough for 5th in the Bundesliga. Kimmich is also an extraordinary chance creator for a right-back, averaging 1.8 key passes per game (11th in the Bundesliga) and providing an exceptional 10 assists.

While he is mostly known for his short passing (having previously played centre midfield), he is also an excellent crosser- averaging 2.1 successful crosses per game (3rd in the Bundesliga). Playing for Jupp Heyncekes has also helped him improve his long passes, as the German now averages 5.1 per game (compared to 3.1 last year). Defensively, Kimmich’s statistics are not excellent as he only averages 1.1 tackles and 0.7 interceptions per game. Yet, this is slightly misleading because of the fact that Bayern Munich rarely need to defend in the Bundesliga.

To really understand his defensive impact, one can look at his performance for the national team in the 2016 Euros where he averaged 2.3 tackles and 1 interception per game. This all-around excellence can be seen through his WhoScored player rating which was the 14th highest in the Bundesliga and 38th in the Champions League (highest right-back on both lists). If he can continue his form from the club season, it will be very difficult for any team to stop Germany from becoming defending champions.