Germany Announces 30-Man Preliminary Squad for World Cup Preparation
Joachim Löw, the head coach of the German national team, has unveiled a 30-man squad for their first training camp ahead of the 2014 World Cup. The squad features a mix of experienced players, particularly from Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, alongside a few promising young talents.
One notable inclusion is Sami Khedira, who has been sidelined for much of the season due to injury but has been included for his potential contribution. On the other hand, Mario Gomez has been left out of the squad. Despite his previous success with the national team, the Fiorentina striker has had limited playing time this season due to injury, and Löw explained that Gomez simply isn’t fit enough: “He’s only played about 280 minutes since September, and he’s not ready.”
Germany will face Poland in a friendly match on May 13, but players from Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund will be absent due to their involvement in the Champions League final.
Here is the full list of players called up:
Goalkeepers:
Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich)
Roman Weidenfeller (Borussia Dortmund)
Ron-Robert Zieler (Hannover)
Defenders:
Jérôme Boateng (Bayern Munich)
Erik Durm (Borussia Dortmund)
Kevin Großkreutz (Borussia Dortmund)
Benedikt Höwedes (Schalke)
Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund)
Marcell Jansen (Hamburg)
Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich)
Per Mertesacker (Arsenal)
Shkodran Mustafi (Sampdoria)
Marcel Schmelzer (Borussia Dortmund)
Midfielders:
Lars Bender (Bayer Leverkusen)
Julian Draxler (Schalke)
Mario Götze (Bayern Munich)
Leon Goretzka (Schalke)
André Hahn (Augsburg)
Sami Khedira (Real Madrid)
Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich)
Max Meyer (Schalke)
Thomas Müller (Bayern Munich)
Mesut Özil (Arsenal)
Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich)
Forwards:
Miroslav Klose (Lazio)
Kevin Volland (Hoffenheim)
Lukas Podolski (Arsenal)
André Schürrle (Chelsea)
Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund)
The squad will likely be trimmed down to the final 23 players closer to the start of the tournament.
