By Ben McFadyean.
As expected, Jürgen Klopp has trimmed the oversized squad of 44 players selected for his first games in charge, the Nations League games against Greece, Holland and Serbia in September and early October, back down to a standard selection. Two new players have also been selected ahead of the games in Serbia tomorrow at 2045 (CET), and in the Netherlands on Monday.
From the starting eleven against Greece at the end of September. Inter’s Yann Aurel Bisseck, Stuttgart’s Josha Vagnoman, Karim Adeyemi of Barcelona, Bambasé Conté of Hoffenheim, and Brentford’s Kevin Schade have all been dropped.
Many of the players whom Jürgen Klopp called up for his debut as national team manager most likely expected that their inclusion might only be temporary. The approach of selecting a massive 44-man squad, which was divided into two groups, as anticipated by most analysts, proved to be more of an opportunity to bring together a group of talents for further review.
Ahead of the two Autumn international matches on Thursday, the selection consisted of just 24 players. There are two new faces, one with Premier League experience, compared to September: Werder Bremen goalscorer Niclas Füllkrug and Gladbach’s talented attacking midfielder Wael Mohya.
Against the odds, however, Monaco’s in-form centre-forward Paris Brunner, Juventus striker Nick Woltemade, and Club Brugge’s rising star Nicolo Tresoldi are all not in the squad.
Among those affected by injury who would otherwise be expected to be in the selection as it stands are FC Bayern’s Serge Gnabry and Jamal Musiala, who are both injured. From the excluded group, Yann Aurel Bisseck, Karim Adeyemi, and Nick Woltemade are currently most likely to remain in the frame. Whilst among the Premier League players, Kevin Schade, Anton Stach of Leeds United, and Brentford’s Vitaly Janelt remain, though all are reported by Kicker to be under observation by the former Liverpool coach.
Following Manuel Neuer’s retirement, the experiments in goal continue, with Marc-Andre ter Stegen chosen ahead of Jonas Urbig; Alexander Nübel of Besiktas and Bayern’s Urbig will be on the bench for the game in Belgrade on Friday.
The 22 players who were not selected are: Goalkeepers: Finn Dahmen (FC Augsburg), Noah Atubolu (Eintracht Frankfurt). Defenders: Hennes Behrens (FC Augsburg), Yann Aurel Bisseck (Inter Milan), Max Rosenfelder (SC Freiburg), Josha Vagnoman (VfB Stuttgart), Ridle Baku (RB Leipzig), David Raum (RB Leipzig). Midfielders: Karim Adeyemi (FC Barcelona), Nadiem Amiri (Mainz 05), Bambasé Conté (TSG Hoffenheim), Yannik Engelhardt (SC Freiburg), Chris Führich (VfB Stuttgart), Serge Gnabry (Bayern Munich), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Kevin Schade (Brentford FC), Anton Stach (Leeds United), Mika Baur (Celtic), Vitaly Janelt (Brentford), Felix Keidel (Elversberg). Forwards: Jonathan Burkardt (Eintracht Frankfurt) and Nick Woltemade (Juventus).
The home match against Xavi Hernandez’s Holland team will take place at the 74,000-capacity Berlin Olympiastadion on Monday at 2045.