Hansi Flick makes a big cut in the German national soccer team nine months before the home European Championship: two prominent players are missing, but Pascal Groß is there for the first time – and Robin Gosens is returning.
In the nomination on Thursday (08/31/2023) for the international matches against Japan and France, the national coach did without supposedly seeded players like Leon Goretzka, Timo Werner or David Raum. Surprisingly, the long-time Premier League professional Pascal Groß from Brighton and Hove Albion is new.
“put ego at the back”
“It’s nothing final, I want to see reactions now. Everyone has to put their ego behind, put themselves at the service of the team,” said Flick in a media slot about his tough decisions. “Who energizes the team? We’re looking at that very closely. The team is the star, not the individual.”
Central defender Niklas Süle, who was recently penalized, returns to his squad of 24. Jamal Musiala is there despite a muscle injury. Flick says of Pascal Groß: “We’re looking forward to him. He’s really happy too. He plays football very intelligently, so we get to see a good guy.”
Ginter and Wolf were also removed from the DFB squad
Other prominent names missing from the list include Matthias Ginter, Thilo Kehrer and Marius Wolf.
The German national team will play against Japan in Wolfsburg on September 9 – Germany had lost this duel at the World Cup and it was the beginning of a debacle. Then comes the big game in Dortmund against Vice World Champion France (September 12).
The line-up at a glance:
TOR: Marc-Andre ter Stegen (FC Barcelona), Kevin Trapp (Eintracht Frankfurt), Oliver Baumann (TSG Hoffenheim)
DEFENSE: Emre Can (Borussia Dortmund), Robin Gosens (Union Berlin), Benjamin Henrichs (RB Leipzig), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Antonio Rüdiger (Real Madrid), Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund), Niklas Süle (Borussia Dortmund), Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen), Malick Thiaw (AC Milan)
MID FIELD/ATTACK: Julian Brandt (Borussia Dortmund), Felix Nmecha (Borussia Dortmund), Niclas Füllkrug (Werder Bremen), Serge Gnabry (Bayern Munich), Pascal Groß (Brighton and Hove Albion), Ilkay Gündogan (FC Barcelona), Kai Havertz (FC Arsenal) , Jonas Hofmann (Bayer Leverkusen), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Leroy Sane (Bayern Munich), Kevin Schade (FC Brentford), Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen)
