New Delhi, May 16 (IANS): Ahead of the Euro 2024 which is scheduled to begin on June 15, Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann announced the preliminary squad he will be fielding for the friendlies.
The biggest talking point of the squad was the exclusion of Mats Hummels and Leon Goretzka as both are veterans of their country and Hummels has had an exemplary season with Borussia Dortmund which has seen the black and yellow reach the finals of the tournament.
“I had a long talk with both Hummels and Goretzka. They're very disappointed as they’re out of the list. I tried to explain why they weren't included. It's understandable that they are sad,” said Nagelsmann at the squad announcement.
Although the official squad announcement took place much later, Germany used the opportunity of the home Euros in great fashion as they announced individual players through ‘leaks’ including the country's social media influences, music artists, bakeries and many more
Deutschland will be facing Ukraine and Greece in the final two friendlies before June 7 which is when the deadline of announcing the squad is set for. The two friendlies will see one player having to be removed from the 27 man squad as players will be allowed to represent the country.
Germany’s preliminary squad for Euro 2024
Goalkeepers: Oliver Baumann (TSG Hoffenheim), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Alexander Nübel (VfB Stuttgart), Marc-André ter Stegen (Barcelona)
Defenders: Waldemar Anton (VfB Stuttgart), Benjamin Henrichs (RB Leipzig), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Robin Koch (Eintracht Frankfurt), Maximilian Mittelstädt (VfB Stuttgart), David Raum (RB Leipzig), Toni Rüdiger (Real Madrid), Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund), Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen)
Midfielders: Robert Andrich (Bayer Leverkusen), Chris Führich (VfB Stuttgart), Pascal Groß (Brighton), Ilkay Gündogan (Barcelona), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Aleksandar Pavlovic (Bayern Munich), Leroy Sané (Bayern Munich), Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen)
Forwards: Maximilian Beier (Hoffenheim) Niclas Füllkrug (Borussia Dortmund), Kai Havertz (Arsenal), Thomas Müller (Bayern Munich), Deniz Undav (VfB Stuttgart)