Germany head coach Hansi Flick has named his 23-man squad ahead of October's World Cup qualifiers against Romania and North Macedonia.
Die Mannschaft are currently four points clear at the top of Group J, and three more wins from their final four matches would guarantee their place at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Flick has made a few minor changes to the squad he selected in September, with key players such as Ilkay Gundogan and Mats Hummels forced to miss out due to injury.
Hansi #Flick's Germany squad for #GERROU and #MKDGER! 📋
— Germany (@DFB_Team_EN) October 1, 2021
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Marc-Andre ter Stegen makes his return to the senior side after recovering from a knee injury, which ruled him out of September's fixtures. Eintracht Frankfurt goalkeeper Kevin Trapp makes way for Barcelona's number one.
Left-back Robin Gosens picked up an injury in Atalanta's 1-0 victory over Young Boys on Wednesday and so has not been selected this month. Flick has decided not to call up a like-for-like replacement and has instead brought Borussia Monchengladbach's Matthias Ginter back into the fold. Hoffenheim's David Raum is now Germany's only natural left-back option in the 23-man squad.
Borussia Dortmund's Hummels has not been selected as he has only just recovered from a knee injury. Flick has Ginter, Antonio Rudiger, Niklas Sule and Thilo Kehrer who he can call upon to play in the heart of the defence.
Midfielders Gundogan and Mahmoud Dahoud are both sidelined with injuries so Bayern Munich duo Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka as well as Monchengladbach's Florian Neuhaus are to most likely candidates to feature in the middle of the pitch.
Further up the pitch, Flick has named the same nine attack-minded players as he did in September. 18-year-old starlet Florian Wirtz, who made his international debut two months ago, will get a chance to bring his impressive club form to the national side, after scoring six goals and providing four assists in seven appearances for Bayern Leverkusen so far this term.
Red Bull Salzburg forward Karim Adeyemi is another who made his senior debut in September, though he was able to score when he came off the bench in the 6-0 victory against Armenia. The 19-year-old already has 11 goals in 16 appearances for club and country so far this campaign. Flick also has the likes of Thomas Muller, Marco Reus, Timo Werner and Kai Havertz who will be vying for a place in the first XI.
Oliver Thomas
