Philipp Lahm has raved about winning the FIFA World Cup™ and backed Germany to repeat the feat in the near future. ‘Magic Dwarf’ swapped between right-back and central midfield during Brazil 2014, and captained Joachim Low’s team to glory. Five days later, Lahm announced his retirement from international football, having won 113 caps.

“It was definitely the high point of my football career,” the 33-year-old told GloboEsporte of the World Cup triumph. “Winning the Champions League for my club was incredible, but to finish my career with the German national team, after ten years, winning the World Cup is difficult to even find words to describe. It was a huge triumph and involved a lot of luck.”

Lahm, Per Mertesacker, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Miroslav Klose – all of whom played in the Brazil 2014 Final – have since quit the national team. Germany have, nonetheless, won all four of their Russia 2018 qualifiers and sit top of Group C, five points clear of their nearest challengers.

“Germany is a football nation, just like Brazil is,” explained Lahm. “Both countries can win the World Cup several times more. Therefore, there’s always hope of winning it again.

“German clubs, the German league and the German Football Association have made many improvements in recent decades. Every professional club in Germany needs to guarantee solid youth development. Moreover, the interest in football is so high that it’s possible to frequently produce talents. The combination of consolidated structure and young talent leaves me optimistic that the German national team can repeat the success of 2014 and win the World Cup in the near future.”

Operating at left-back, Lahm scored the opening goal of the 2006 World Cup, cutting inside and smashing the ball home from distance against Costa Rica. He also helped Germany finished third at South Africa 2010.