Joachim Low announced his 27-man preliminary World Cup squad earlier in May. The squad consisted of four goalkeepers, including Manuel Neuer who has not played for the last eight months. With four keepers in the team, one of them had to be dropped from the final list. Bernd Leno became one of Germany stars dropped from the squad. Fans are expecting a lot to come from this Germany team with the likes of Mesut Ozil, Julian Draxler and Marco Reus all included. Overall, Die Mannschaft are one of the favourites to win the trophy.
Germany Trim Down World Cup Squad
Currently, Germany are on a winless streak since their victory over Azerbaijan in October 2017. Their recent loss to Austria adds on to the woes that the World Cup holders are experiencing. Before their campaign in Russia kicks off, Germany still have a match to prove and prepare themselves. The match against underdogs Saudi Arabia will be a great opportunity to boost the Germans’ confidence ahead of the games. Here is a look at the four players who were ultimately left out.
Germany Stars Dropped
Bernd Leno
Manuel Neuer emerged from the friendly against Austria unscathed and he is very much the first-choice keeper for Germany. Over the season, the Bayern Munich keeper made only four appearances for his club. His recurring injury had ruled him out of the majority of the games but it seems like he has managed to prove his fitness.
It is no surprise that the 26-year-old had been dropped from the final squad as he remains at the bottom of the pecking order. Although he will not be travelling to Russia this year, his opportunity could come in the next edition of the World Cup if he maintains his good performances.
Kevin Trapp from Paris Saint-Germain and Marc-Andre Ter-Stegen remain in the team as backups to Neuer.
Leroy Sane
His omission came as a huge surprise to many. The 22-year-old had an impressive season with Manchester City this season and even won the English Premier League. In 49 matches, he scored 14 times and provided 19 assists. Now, it seems like the time is not ripe for him to play in the World Cup despite the hard work.
The German coach picked Julian Brandt from Bayer Leverkusen. The 22-year-old left winger made 39 appearances for his club, scoring 12 goals in the process. Although Brandt has got a better shot accuracy than his compatriot, the Bundesliga man loses out in terms of average pass accuracy and duels won.
Sane will have to watch his country play in the games from home this summer and work harder next time.
Jonathan Tah
Over the season, he established himself as one of the best centre-backs in Bundesliga. He made his debut at the age of 17 as a player of Hamburg. According to Bayer sporting director Rudi Völler, the player has made plenty of improvement and is one of Germany’s best defenders.
It looks like Low values the experienced players more than the younger ones. As such, the youngster, Tah, will be missing the competition.
Nils Petersen
The Freiburg striker was another player who did not make the cut into the national squad. After the season ended, Petersen emerged as the second top scorer of the league with 15 goals to his name. His pretty impressive season fired him into Germany’s provisional squad. However, his dreams of heading to the World Cup ended after the match against Austria.
The centre-forward made his senior international debut during Germany’s loss. Petersen has relatively little experience on the international stage as compared to the rest of the forwards. Germany has to go into the competition strong and attempt to defend the title. After a miserable form, Low eventually made the decision to go with the more experienced players.
It is really no surprise that the 29-year-old will not be representing Germany in Russia.
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