Germany, the reigning champions, announced their squad for FIFA. The choice of players raised many eyebrows, especially as the Germany’s performance in the international friendlies has been shaky.
Inclusion of Manuel Neuer and Marco Reus and the exclusion of Leroy Sane were the big surprises announced on Monday. The players to watch out for, in the 23-man squad travelling to Russia, are Joshua Kimmich, Jerome Boateng, Mats Hummels, Toni Kroos, Ilkay Gündogan, Julian Draxler, Thomas Müller, Mesut Özil, Marco Reus, Julian Brandt, Leon Goretzka.
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During the Saturday World Cup warm-up match against Austria, the German fans cheered for Manuel Neuer, who was behind the goal. He has missed most of the season because of injury. Last September, he fractured the metatarsal in his left foot and has not played for the German league club, Bayern Munich, for over 8 months. Neuer had a final MRI scan less than 24 hours prior to his long-awaited comeback.
Germany’s performance against Austria was disappointing. They lost 2-1, despite being given an open goal by the Austrian goalkeeper Siebenhändl in the 10th minute. Mesut Ozil scored a curler through his left leg.
A new face for Germany is Marco Reus who missed the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Euro Cup due to injury.
While announcing the 23 man squad travelling to Russia the coach excluded Leroy Sane. Sane has enjoyed an impressive season in the English Premier league with Manchester City. Sane was named ‘PFA Young Player 2018’ of the year as he scored 14 goals for City and assisted another 19 goals.
Experts think that Leroy Sane would have been a perfect fit for the German squad. Mario Götze and Andre Schurrle, whose ommission had been announced earlier, were instrumental in the final in 2014 Brazil World Cup. Schurrle had assisted Götze who scored the winning goal in the 113th minute against the Argentinian goalkeeper Sergio Romero.