According to media reports, national coach Hansi Flick will do without several established national players in his first squad nomination on the way to the home European Championship in 2024. According to information from “Bild”, the World Cup participants Leroy Sané (FC Bayern Munich), Antonio Rüdiger (Real Madrid) and Niklas Süle (Borussia Dortmund) will not be called up for the first international matches of the year on March 25 in Mainz against Peru and three days later in Cologne against Belgium. The TV broadcaster Sky also reported the waiver of the 27-year-old Sané.
The German Football Association will publish Flick’s squad on Friday afternoon. The national coach had already announced a few surprises in advance and stated that he would also like to test more younger players at the first international matches after the World Cup debacle in Qatar. “By the summer it will also be about inviting a few new players and seeing how they behave in our group,” said the 58-year-old.
Accordingly, Kevin Schade is about to be nominated for the senior national team for the first time. The offensive man switched from SC Freiburg to Premier League club FC Brentford in the summer on loan with an obligation to buy (approx. 25 million euros). Malick Thiaw, recently very conspicuous as a central defender at AC Milan, is also in focus
It was already clear that the new start would take place without the veterans Thomas Müller (33) and Ilkay Gündogan (32). However, the door to the European Championship remains open for both, explained Flick. Goalkeeper and captain Manuel Neuer (36) is also missing after breaking his leg. He is likely to explain later in the day whether Flick will refrain from using other established forces such as attacker Sané or the previous defense chief Rüdiger for performance reasons or to test other players.
