National coach Hansi Flick announced the squad for the upcoming World Cup in Qatar on Thursday (November 10, 2022) at the DFB campus in Frankfurt.
With Dortmund’s Youssoufa Moukoko, the national coach called up a newcomer to the squad for the controversial Winter World Cup in the desert emirate of Qatar. Dortmund’s Moukoko, who will be 18 on the day the World Cup opens, has not yet played for the senior national team.
In addition to Moukoko, striker Niclas Füllkrug is making his debut at the World Cup. Mario Götze, who scored the winning goal in the 2014 World Cup final, was nominated again after a five-year absence from the DFB jersey. Along with goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, Thomas Müller and Matthias Ginter, the Frankfurter is one of four other Rio world champions in the squad.
Defense with Klostermann and Bella Kotchap, without Hummels
In addition to Lukas Klostermann, Flick also called up Armel Bella Kotchap in defence, both of whom have recently been struggling with injuries. However, there were “no question marks, no concerns,” said Flick, regarding the fitness of the two defenders and the other nominated players.
The national coach, on the other hand, will do without Mats Hummels. The 33-year-old central defender, who played his last international match at the EM 2021 in the round of 16 against England, had recently recommended himself for a comeback, at least as an experienced supplementary player. EM discovery Robin Gosens was not called by Flick either.
Flick: Another Reus cancellation “hurts”
Marco Reus, Hummels’ team-mate at BVB, had to pull out on the day of the nomination due to an ankle injury, and the 33-year-old will miss another major tournament as a result. It might have been his last chance. “That hurts. I’ve said many times how much I appreciate him. He’s good for every team with his qualities and we’ll miss him“, said the national coach at the nomination.
The injured Timo Werner and Lukas Nmecha are also missing. Florian Wirtz was also not considered after his cruciate ligament tear.
Even before the squad with 26 players was announced, Flick also commented on the ongoing criticism of the World Cup organizers.We don’t want to duck away and clearly draw attention to the grievances“Flick said of the human rights situation in Qatar.
The World Cup begins on Sunday November 20 with the opening game between hosts Qatar and Ecuador.
The DFB team will play their three preliminary round games on Wednesday, November 23rd. vs. Japan (2 p.m. CET), on Sunday 27.11. against Spain (8 p.m.) and on Thursday 01.12. (8 p.m.) against Costa Rica.
The World Cup squad at a glance:
Goal: Manuel Neuer (FC Bayern Munich), Marc-André ter Stegen (FC Barcelona), Kevin Trapp (Eintracht Frankfurt)
Defense: Antonio Rüdiger (Real Madrid), Niklas Süle (Borussia Dortmund), Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund), Thilo Kehrer (West Ham United), David Raum (RB Leipzig), Christian Günter (SC Freiburg), Lukas Klostermann (RB Leipzig), Armel Bella Kotchap (Southampton), Matthias Ginter (Freiburg)
Midfield and Attack: Leon Goretzka (FC Bayern Munich), Joshua Kimmich (FC Bayern Munich), Ilkay Gündogan (Manchester City), Jonas Hofmann (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Serge Gnabry (FC Bayern Munich), Jamal Musiala (FC Bayern Munich), Thomas Müller (FC Bayern Munich), Leroy Sane (FC Bayern Munich), Kai Havertz (FC Chelsea), Karim Adeyemi (Borussia Dortmund), Youssoufa Moukoko (Borussia Dortmund), Julian Brandt (Borussia Dortmund), Niclas Füllkrug (Werder Bremen), Mario Götze (Eintracht Frankfurt).