Germany boss Joachim Loew has named his 23-man World Cup squad. One man who will surprisingly not be in Russia with Die Mannschaft is Manchester City’s talented young attacking midfielder Leroy Sane, who has just enjoyed a fine season with the Citizens.
Sane was named PFA Young Player of the Year after scoring ten times and producing 15 assists as City ran away with the Premier League title. His omission is a sign of just how strong Germany are in the attacking midfield department.
Sane would start for most teams in Russia
The fact that Germany could afford to leave Sane out of their World Cup is frightening for the world champions opponents at this summers World Cup. Sane would walk into most teams starting line-ups, so for him not to even be in the squad is a warning signal to every other team in the competition.
England are relatively strong in the attacking midfield area, but I know for sure that Sane would get into the Three Lions team. That goes for most teams in the competition in fact.
Quality alternatives
Quite simply Sane was a victim of Germany just having too many options in the positions he can play in. Germany have the likes of Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil, Dortmund’s Marco Reus and Bayer Leverkusen’s highly rated attacking midfielder Julian Brandt in their 23-man squad.
Ozil has endured mixed fortunes for both Arsenal and Germany in recent years. However, on his day he is undoubtedly a quality player. He has the vision to spot passes that not many in the world game have and is a crucial player for Germany.
Reus has been horribly unfortunate in recent years with injuries. Like Ozil, Reus has a big reputation within the European game. The Dortmund star has been constantly linked with big money moves, mainly to the Premier League.
His ability has never been in question. However, his knack of picking up bad injuries has hampered what could have been a great career. At 29 years old, he still has time to make his mark on the biggest stage of all.
Youngster Brandt has made 15 appearances for Germany after enjoying a successful start to his professional career with Bayer Leverkusen. Brandt was also included in the preliminary squad for Euro 2016, but failed to make the final cut, instead featuring at the Olympics in the same year.
German boss Loew admitted after the squad was announced that he had to choose between Sane and Brandt. He also stated that it was a very difficult decision. However, it is a nice problem to have for the national side. Too many good players.
One of the favourites to lift the trophy
Germany have been regarded as big hitters at most international tournaments they have appeared in, whether it be World Cups or European Championships. This summers World Cup in Russia is no different, as the world champions are one of the favourites to win the World Cup at odds of 9/2. In fact, only South American giants Brazil are shorter odds than Joachim Loew’s side.
Germany no doubt have strength in-depth in certain areas of the pitch, the attacking midfield area being one of those. No doubt Sane will be disappointed at not being in the 23-man squad, but he is young and his time will come.
It is not as if he is being left out of a weak squad. The City star will no doubt appear in future tournaments with Die Mannschaft, as he is already a star in the making.
Should Leroy Sane have been selected in Germany’s World Cup squad?
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