Neuer in, Sane out as Lowe wields the ax
Print Edition
In a sign of Germany’s depth of talent, Leroy Sane was left out of the defending champion’s final World Cup squad yesterday.
The 22-year-old winger, who won the English Premier League title with Manchester City and was voted young player of the year by the Professional Footballers’ Association, didn’t make the cut when Joachim Loew reduced his squad to 23 players.
Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer — who hadn’t played a competitive game since September until the friendly loss to Austria on Saturday — was included in the squad for the tournament in Russia.
Neuer had been out with a repeat of the fracture in his left foot but played the full game against Austria, likely forcing Marc-Andre ter Stegen to the bench.
Bernd Leno was the goalkeeper to miss out, while defender Jonathan Tah and forward Nils Petersen were also dropped from the squad. Petersen made his debut against Austria but Loew is keeping faith in forwards Timo Werner and Mario Gomez.
“There are certainly better days in the life of a national coach than when you must send four great players home who would have deserved to be at a World Cup,” Loew said at the team’s training camp in South Tyrol, Italy.
Germany’s preparations continue with a friendly against Saudi Arabia in Leverkusen on Friday. “You have to look at the big picture so we have a variable and well-balanced team prepared for all eventualities,” Loew said.
Germany plays its opening Group F match against Mexico on June 17. The defending champion will then face Sweden and South Korea.
Meanwhile, Belgium coach Roberto Martinez has given Vincent Kompany two weeks to recover from a groin injury in time for the World Cup, retaining the Manchester City captain in his squad but putting Laurent Ciman on standby for the tournament in Russia.
Martinez had been expected to cut his initial 28-man squad by five players yesterday but instead named 24, including central defender Kompany.
Martinez said that World Cup rules allowed the final squad to be named 24 hours before they kick off their campaign. Belgium plays Panama on June 18 before facing other Group G opponents Tunisia and England.
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