Germany's new faces for Confederations Cup
Germany, the current world champion in football, will bet on new faces for the upcoming Confederations Cup in Russia, according to the list announced today by coach Joachim Löw.
The decision of coach Joachim Löw to do without top players and to call up six debutants for the Russian tournament has caused surprise in the country, where the list of chosen ones is already being labelled as a "super experiment".
Among the novelties, the Hoffenheim football player Sandro Wagner stands out, who, at 29 years old, has been one of those chosen to wear the "Mannschaft" shirt for the first time.
"Sandro Wagner has a different way of playing. In recent years he has scored many goals in the Bundesliga," said Löw today after announcing the names of the called-up players.
Also making their debut in the national team are Lars Stindl (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Marvin Plattenhardt (Hertha Berlin), Kerem Demirbay (Hoffenheim), Amin Younes (Ajax Amsterdam) and Diego Demme (Leipzig).
Löw gave rest to a large part of the players who brought the title to Germany in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, such as Toni Kroos, Mats Hummels, Sami Khedira, Mesut Özil, Thomas Müller, and Jerome Boateng.
Other regular names, including Manuel Neuer, Mario Götze, Benedikt Howedes, and Ilkay Gündogan, were also left out of the list due to injury.
The 2017 Confederations Cup will be held in Russia from June 17 to July 2. Germany is in Group B along with Chile, Cameroon, and Australia. Group A consists of Russia, Portugal, Mexico, and New Zealand.
Here is the list of players called up for Germany in the 2017 Confederations Cup:
Goalkeepers: Bernd Leno, Marc-André ter Stegen, and Kevin Trapp.
Defenders: Matthias Ginter, Jonas Hector, Benjamin Henrichs, Joshua Kimmich, Shkodran Mustafi, Marvin Plattenhardt, Antonio Rüdiger, and Niklas Süle.
Midfielders: Julian Brandt, Emre Can, Kerem Demirbay, Diego Demme, Leon Goretzka, Sebastian Rudy, Leroy Sané, and Lars Stindl.
Forwards: Julian Draxler, Sandro Wagner, Timo Werner, and Amin Younes.