Without the longtime defensive chief Jérôme Boateng, the German national football team tackles the conclusion of the weakest international league year since its inception. Bayern professional Boateng is missing surprisingly in the squad of national coach Joachim Loew for the duels with Russia on 15 November and four days later in the Nations League with arch-rivals Netherlands.
"This is a novelty, but that does not mean that he will not be back in the future," said Bayern coach Niko Kovac on the disregard of Boateng, who played 76 international matches and counted among the top performers in the 2014 World Cup triumph: " I do not think it's the end for Jérôme in the national team. "
Newcomers are not in the squad this time. Goalkeeper Marc-andré ter Stegen (FC Barcelona) relinquishes Löw, Ilkay Gündogan (Manchester City) misses after recovering from a hamstring injury. Toni Kroos (Real Madrid) will join the team for the duel with Oranje.
There could be a final against relegation from the Nations League. Should Oranje lose against World Champion France on 16 November, the DFB squad can avert the crash in League B with a win.
Overall, the national coach nominated on Friday 24 players for the meetings in Leipzig and Gelsenkirchen. Again after breaks in October are Dortmund captain Marco Reus, Leon Goretzka (Bayern Munich) and Kai Havertz (Bayer Leverkusen).
The squad of the German national team:
Goal: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Bernd Leno (Arsenal), Kevin Trapp (Eintracht Frankfurt)
Defense: Matthias Ginter (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Jonas Hector (1st FC Cologne), Mats Hummels (Bayern Munich), Thilo Kehrer (Paris St. Germain), Antonio Rüdiger (Chelsea), Nico Schulz (TSG Hoffenheim), Niklas Süle (Bayern Munich), Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen)
Midfield / attack: Julian Brandt (Bayer Leverkusen), Julian Draxler (Paris St. Germain), Serge Gnabry (Bayern Munich), Leon Goretzka (Bayern Munich), Kai Havertz (Bayer Leverkusen), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Thomas Müller (Bayern Munich), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund), Sebastian Rudy (Schalke 04), Leroy Sané (Manchester City), Mark Uth (Schalke 04), Timo Werner (RB Leipzig)