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Germany names final 23-man squad for World Cup

Germany v Cameroon - International Friendly

By DAN KARELL

Germany head coach Joachim Löw has selected only one recognizable center forward in his final squad for the World Cup.

Following Germany’s 2-2 draw with Cameroon on Sunday, Löw cut three players from his team to finalize the 23-man roster, which includes superstars Mesut Özil, Bastian Schweinsteiger, and Marco Reus. Löw included injury doubts Manuel Neuer, Philipp Lahm, Schweinsteiger, and Sami Khedira.

However, the choice to cut forward Kevin Volland, along with Shkodran Mustafi and Marcel Schmelzer, has left Germany with just Klose, 36, as their lone striker up top. Löw has played in the past with Mario Götze in a false No. 9 role and players such as Lukas Podolski, Andre Schürrle and Julian Draxler could play up top as well if needed.

Germany has one final tune-up match on Friday against Armenia in Mainz before heading over to Brazil. Germany will open up Group G action on June 16 against Portugal.

Here’s a look at Germany’s 23-man roster:

GERMANY 2014 WORLD CUP SQUAD

GOALKEEPERS: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Roman Weidenfeller (Borussia Dortmund), Ron-Robert Zieler (Hannover)

DEFENDERS: Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich), Erik Durm (Borussia Dortmund), Kevin Grosskreutz (Borussia Dortmund), Benedikt Howedes (FC Schalke), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Per Mertesacker (Arsenal)

MIDFIELDERS: Julian Draxler (Schalke), Matthias Ginter (Freiburg), Mario Gotze (Bayern Munich), Christoph Kramer (Borussia Monchengladbach), Sami Khedira (Real Madrid), Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Mesut Ozil (Arsenal), Lukas Podolski (Arsenal), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund), Andre Schurrle (Chelsea), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich)

FORWARD: Miroslav Klose (Lazio).

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What do you think of this squad? Surprised Löw only selected one forward? Think this team is strong enough to win the tournament? Do you expect Lahm and Neuer to be fit for the World Cup opener?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Too many injuries, who’s the Latin magician doing this; behind this team? i wanna see players like TASCI CERDAR, DIEGO CONTENTO,

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  3. It is tricky to say Germany has only one forward. Muller, Podolski or Schurrle can play in that position as well. I think it was a nice gesture from head coach Joachim Low with Klose since he is already a legend for the Germans.

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  4. Incredibly talented, obviously, but a lot of their talent is redundant, and they have injuries in areas where they are (slightly, relatively) less deep, so all is not perfect in Deutschland…

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  5. This Decision phenomenon is interesting. It just shows how some people never mentally leave a certain moment, a certain emotional experience. Same goes with “CR7 *will* do this” or “Germany *will* do that.” Yes, plenty of amazing moments to savor, from LD, CR7, and some legendary Germans (where did that star striker of theirs end up, byt the way?). But for all the Donovan heroics (like the 2001 MLS Cup! Woohoo!), CR7 brilliance, and German aptitude, there are games where all of the above get shut out. You can’t say for certain what *will* happen based on past results. That’s why we keep playing games… beyond the fact that Sepp and Friends need fuel for their private jets. And seriosuly, if you in fact possess a crystal ball… wouldn’t it be better used elsewhere?

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    • I had a crystal ball. Unfortunately, just as I was about to use it to ask who will win the WC, I stumbled across SBI and saw all the “Decision” comments and briefly wondered, “when will they give it a rest?!” Sadly, it was a single-use ball, so all I know is: the year 2057.

      🙁

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      • 2057……that will be when we get over what a mess JK is making of this World Cup at the very end of a nice run ?

        (Full disclosure, I will give him no credit if we do pull this out, so it is no win for him and no lose situation for me at this point)

    • I disagree with your analysis of what’s interesting about this all but find it funny how some posters seem to really feel enlightened when they chastise others about commenting on it

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    • How do you know? In about 10 years maybe a few of them will have their skills diminish enough for them to cash out their careers in the states.

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  6. I see a counter attack game plan for Germany. Germany looks uncomfortable when the opposing team plays in there final third like they cannot believe it is happening against them. Yes, the ego’s of Germany are that high. Park the bus when we have to and counter, possess the ball and attack when we can. A team can attack or counter attack. The USMNT needs to play both versions whenever they have the opportunity. We will need two Defensive midfielders against all group opponents. I see a basic 4-5-1 in all games. Our basic approach should be to counter attack to take advantage when we can, when we have possession of the ball we need to take advantage when we can… leaving Donovan off the team just kills a counter attacking approach. A counter attack with speed is the one weapon we possess and should be used…

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    • That seemed to be what they Germany doing against Cameroon. They would knock the ball around the top of their own half, try to entice the Cameroonians to chase (which they did successfuly at times), and then pop a quick pass into the holes created by that movement. I think the US and Germany will mirror each other in the first half… and all hell breaks lose in the second. Either way, should be a fun game… would be even more fun if pepole would move on from he who cannot be named.

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    • mikeG, calm down, FC USA will be already eliminated after 2 matches, so the match vs Germany will mean nothing. I predected Klinsmann’s selection would concede 15 goals in the 3 WC matches, but, after watching that turkish juggernaut rack-up 25 shots at goal and 9 corners yestserday, I might have to raise that estimate a wee bit. CR7, if he doesn’t already have a hat trick for Portugal, looks to be darn certain to get one vs FC USA.

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    • 4-5-1 invites Germany’s wealth of midfield attacking talent to advance and shred our defense to pieces. I like the diamond, and I think pushing Bradley up to harass opposing attacks before they really even get started is the way to go. Bunkering against a team like Germany with that many creative attacking weapons is not smart.

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  7. Stop the presses! Klose hasn’t scored for the national team since Sept. 6 2013. That’s almost 9 months!!! The Germans must be ripping him a new one about how terrible he is and how he needs to be replaced ASAP!

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      • Your missing my point. If Klose was in a USMNT kit, people on this site would be shredding him. Calling for anyone else to replace him. Even big name strikers on big soccer powers have scoring slumps. If national team managers reacted to the public knee jerk reactions, every team would look different.

      • If Klose were in a USMNT kit, we wouldn’t be talking about Landon Donovan. Not even comparable. Klose still starts in Serie A. Please, move on.

      • And of course the difference is Klose is about to become the all time goal leader in World Cup history.

  8. my German friend actually seems worried about this team. it’s weird to see him talk like that about the Germans. He started pointing out the issues when Bayern clinched so early and then seemed to lose their edge, whatever the reasons, and he’s continued to relay black clouds and gloom from his buddies back in Germany

    maybe things lining up for the USMNT? what if both teams need a result in that last one…would be an amazing atmosphere and battle. could change the order of things. the opportunities of playing in a group like this are excellent. we’ll see

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    • i live in Germany and to be honest, the Germans worry about everything. it’s kind of a national pastime to grumble about all the things that could go wrong. they are a nation of navel gazers. just like you shouldn’t take england’s optimism too seriously, you shouldn’t take Germany’s pessimism too seriously.

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      • I used to live in Germany as well, I pretty much agree. It probably has something to do with the lack of sun.

    • If the USMNT plays with the same confidence and fire they showed against Turkey they are more than capable of beating the current injury plagued German team. Unfortunately, Klinsmann is an egotistical tool and has screwed us with several bad roster decisions and the team is not nearly as strong as it could be.

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      • “If the USMNT [that was selected and is coached by Klinsmann] plays with the same confidence and fire they showed against Turkey [where Klinsmann determined the lineup, formation, and tactics] they are more than capable of beating the current injury plagued German team. Unfortunately, Klinsmann is an egotistical tool and has screwed us with several bad roster decisions and the team is not nearly as strong as it could be [but is nevertheless more than capable of beating the most feared team in our group].”

    • I think this goes beyond standard German pessimism, though. I don’t know German culture enough to pin it down. Bottom line is there is about an equal chance that Germany flops as there are chances for the US to advance. Don’t get me wrong… my money is on Germany to win the group.

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      • I think the big wild card is the weather. Germany sometimes has a hiccup in the first round and if they need a win in the last game it might be difficult if for no other reason that the US is used to tropical hell holes and 1000 mile commutes to games. It doesn’t help that Ghana is in the pool either. Not saying it will happen but if Germany were to ever flop out of a WC this would be the one.

      • I actually think that Ghana and USA are going to make it out of this group.

        Travel and humidity are going to be huge factors.

  9. Actually the one guy I am most scared of to score on us is MIro Klose. You lose him for one second, and the guy still has the awareness to get into that spot to be lethal.

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  10. Stacked. But after watching their game yesterday, I think we *could* manage a draw with the ball rolling our way. Often.

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  11. Spain could get away with it, but it was a situation I think unique to them.

    I’m really, really curious to see if another very different team can pull it off. Best of luck to Germany in that sense.

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  12. This is like Spain last cycle–lots of great midfielders, not many strikers.With that midfield, they will surely control the ball and play. Still, I feel like they are a team that the US could manage a draw with on a good day.

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  13. One real left back and one real striker. It sure is interesting. I don’t think the flase 9 will be great honestly, but Muller did play well in that position yesterday, from what I heard. It is an interesting choice of players.

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  14. Lots of guys who like to score goals. Plan: destroy opponents in the midfield. How far we’ve come from the German teams of old that were known for their conservative, defensive and boring style of play.

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    • Well those “boring and defensive Germans” have 3 WC and 3 Euro trophies in their cabinet whereas the new and exciting Germans haven’t got jack.

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    • the plan is to bore us to death with bayern’s version of barcelona’s tiki-tak passing game. they hardly looked like world-beaters against cameroon last night. but of course they’ll pick it up.

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    • I cannot believe that Germany brought a 36 year old forward who scored lots of World Cup goals… Don’t they know that Klose is not as good as he used to be when he was younger? And his scoring this season is way down form prior years and he’s been injured. Wasn’t there an 18-year old to take his place? Or another old guy with less skill and talent and track record on the field?

      Clearly they have lost the plot since JK left…. Even the U.S. is smart enough to leave behind 30-some World Cup goal-scoring forwards

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      • disagree – the “decision” cut LD from the USMNT WC 2014 squad will not be old until after June 26 when the final group games are played.

      • MidWest Ref: no, it’s already old. We just have to wait until June 26 for it to be obvious how old it was the whole time—like the potato salad at the picnic that everyone knew they shouldn’t consume but many did anyway.

        But don’t worry: there will still be many who won’t stop “eating it” until June 26, 2057.

      • LD coming up in threads that have nothing to do with LD is getting old… I almost understand it in the threads about the USMNT, but not here…

      • And by lots you mean he averages over a goal per game in the World Cup and he’s on the verge of breaking the all-time World Cup scoring record, right? So he has the fire and the motivation to score. And he didn’t need to take a sabbatical from competitive soccer because life is so hard for a pro player? Yeah.

        Comparing Donovan to Klose is insulting to the man.

      • I was going to say something similar, but you beat me to it. People need to MOVE ON. If Donovan had showed the hunger he has now a little earlier, maybe he would be going instead of Wondo. Honestly, that’s who beat him out.

        JK was always going to bring one change of pace, younger, go at you kind of guy to the World Cup for 20 min in the game. He was leaning towards Shea before until he fell apart, but it was going to be one of Shea/Green/Corona. If she had a good season at, I am pretty sure he would be coming instead of Green. Hell, if Orozco was not injured, he might have been he 4th CB not Goodson.

      • Move on ?

        did you see J Green’s corner kick on Saturday ?

        It is easy to say we are not Germany because German fans would never take a sub par National team because of a personal fight of the coach sitting down. Many posting on this site do……

      • Let it go, man. Walk away from the ledge and walk away….

        People are making a lot of assumptions. How about this assumption, JK is big enough that he will not shoot himself by not picking LD out of spite.

        All this said, I would have taken him, but I would not have started him.

      • he is 35. he has knowledge and will give confidence to gotze and rookies. hes better than u anyway so stop complainin

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