National coach Julian Nagelsmann has appointed three newcomers to his first squad. Kevin Behrens, Chris Führich and Robert Andrich are flying to the USA, as is returnee Mats Hummels.
National coach Julian Nagelsmann has appointed three newcomers to his first squad. Kevin Behrens, Chris Führich and Robert Andrich are flying to the USA, as is returnee Mats Hummels.
The German Football Association (DFB) announced this on Friday (October 6th, 2023). A total of 26 players will begin the international trip on October 9th, during the games against the USA (October 14th) and against Mexico (October 18th, 2 a.m. German time, live on Erste and in the stream at sportschau.de).
Nagelsmann chose a larger squad than his predecessor Hansi Flick. Three newcomers are surprising, especially since Kevin Behrens is already 32 years old and before Flick’s last international match on September 9th (1:4 against Japan) he was in significantly better shape than he is currently. The striker scored his four goals in the first two Bundesliga games, after which he came away empty-handed in four more games, all of which 1. FC Union Berlin lost.
Chris Führich, 25 years old, is in consistently good shape. In the six games with VfB Stuttgart, of which the Swabians won five, he scored two goals and four assists.
The 29-year-old Robert Andrich had often been mentioned as a candidate for the national team. His nomination comes as a surprise at this point, as the defensive midfielder has been substituted five times in the six games with Bayer Leverkusen and was substituted at half-time in the 2-2 draw at FC Bayern.
Nagelsmann, who, as expected, is relying on Thomas Müller and Niclas Füllkrug, says of his first squad: “We are a new coaching team and want to see as many players as possible in the national team. It is our goal that we can develop in the short period of time “We have to get used to each other as quickly as possible and try to implement the content in the few training sessions.”
Hummels is there, Schlotterbeck and Can are missing
Thanks to the nomination, Mats Hummels is about to make a comeback to the DFB after more than two years. The now 34-year-old central defender from Borussia Dortmund made his last appearance in the national team to date on June 29, 2021, when Germany was eliminated in the round of 16 of the European Championship with a 2-0 defeat in England.
On the way to the 2024 European Championship in Germany, Nagelsmann will initially be without some of Hummels’ club colleagues. Nico Schlotterbeck is missing from the squad, who is usually given preference at BVB over Niklas Süle, who will fly to the USA.
The new national coach also axed Dortmund captain Emre Can, and he also did without the in-form Karim Adeyemi. This will probably be fine for the Dortmund team, as they face Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga on October 20th, two days after the international match against Mexico.
Henrichs is missing due to Muscle injury
Benjamin Henrichs would certainly have been there in the USA, but the RB Leipzig professional, who was recently strong in the 2-1 win against France under interim coach Rudi Völler, has to sit out due to a muscle injury. Bayern Munich’s Serge Gnabry will be missing due to the broken arm he suffered in the cup game against Preußen Münster.
In addition to Hummels, the returnees are also joined by Leon Goretzka from FC Bayern Munich, David Raum from RB Leipzig and Bernd Leno (FC Fulham) as one of four goalkeepers.
The line-up at a glance
Goal: Oliver Baumann (TSG Hoffenheim), Bernd Leno (FC Fulham), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (FC Barcelona), Kevin Trapp (Eintracht Frankfurt)
Defense: Robin Gosens (Union Berlin), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), David Raum (RB Leipzig), Antonio Rüdiger (Real Madrid), Niklas Süle (Borussia Dortmund), Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen), Malick Thiaw (AC Milan)
Midfield: Robert Andrich (Bayer Leverkusen), Julian Brandt (Borussia Dortmund), Chris Führich (VfB Stuttgart), Leon Goretzka (Bayern Munich), Pascal Groß (Brighton & Hove Albion), Ilkay Gündogan (FC Barcelona), Jonas Hofmann (Bayer Leverkusen) , Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Leroy Sane (Bayern Munich), Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen)
Attack: Kevin Behrens (Union Berlin), Niclas Füllkrug (Borussia Dortmund), Kai Havertz (FC Arsenal), Thomas Müller (Bayern Munich)