Füllkrug, Moukoko, Götze and Bella-Kotchap included in World Cup squad

By Andrew Lord

10 November 2022

Hansi Flick has confirmed Germany’s World Cup squad with 17-year-old Dortmund forward, Youssoufa Moukoko, Southampton centre back Armel Bella-Kotchap and Werder Bremen striker Niclas Füllkrug all included in the 26-man roster.

For Moukoko, who will turn 18 on the opening day of the World Cup, inclusion in the squad is the reward for some exceptional performances this season. He has scored six Bundesliga goals in 13 games so far.

Returning after a five-year absence

It also signals a welcome return for 30-year-old Mario Götze, who last played for Germany five years ago. The attacking midfielder, who scored the winning goal in Germany’s 2014 World Cup final win over Argentina, has been selected after regaining his form after joining Eintracht Frankfurt from PSV Eindhoven in the summer.

Bella-Kotchap, who only made his international debut in the 3-3 draw with England in the Nations League in September, was signed by Premier League club Southampton from VfL Bochum in a deal worth £8.6m over the summer. Bella-Kotchap is one of four Premier League players to make the squad.

Also included is 19-year-old Bayern Munich midfielder Jamal Musiala. Flick gave Musiala his debut when he was manager of the Bavarians in 2020 and at 17 years and 205 days old, Musiala became the club’s youngest ever scorer. The attacking midfielder, who has netted twelve goals for Bayern Munich in all competitions this season, has scored one goal in 17 appearances for Germany.

The selection of Füllkrug, who has scored 10 goals in 13 Bundesliga fixtures for Bremen so far this season, is a reaction to the absence of Timo Werner and Lukas Nmecha, who both miss the World Cup through injury. Timo Werner suffered a torn syndesmosis ligament in his left ankle during RB Leipzig’s 4-0 Champions League victory over Shakhtar Donetsk, while Nmecha sustained a knee injury during Wolfsburg’s 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday evening. Nmecha came on as a substitute in the 75^th minute, but had to be treated for two minutes following a foul by Mats Hummels. He was able to continue and scored the second goal in injury time, but the extent of the injury became clear when he was examined after the game.

Kevin Volland of AS Monaco had been touted as a possible wildcard, but the 30-year-old striker had already written off inclusion in the run up to the announcement: “If I hadn’t started the season with an injury and could instead have put in top performances, it might have been different.”

There had been speculation that Flick would take four goalkeepers, but, ultimately, he settled for three: Manuel Neuer, Marc-André ter Stegen and Kevin Trapp.

Missing out

2014 World Cup winner Mats Hummels misses out. The 33-year-old Borussia Dortmund centre half was involved in Euro 2020, but has not been chosen this time. As expected, Florian Wirtz of Bayer Leverkusen also misses out. Although Wirtz was included in the provisional 55-man squad, he remains sidelined with a knee injury. Dortmund attacker Marco Reus, who has been plagued by ankle issues this season, has not made the final 26.

An anxious wait

With Werner and Nmecha already out of contention, Flick will face an anxious wait this weekend with a full programme of Bundesliga fixtures including Borussia Mönchengladbach versus Borussia Dortmund tomorrow evening and Schalke 04 against Bayern Munich on Saturday.

In the final friendly international before the World Cup, Germany will face Oman at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat on 16 November.

Six members of the squad play abroad, while seven are represented by Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.

This year, the squad size has been increased to 26 players from 23 and teams will have the option of making five substitutions per game.

The Germany World Cup squad in full

Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Marc-André ter Stegen (Barcelona), Kevin Trapp (Eintracht Frankfurt).

Defenders: Armel Bella-Kotchap (Southampton), Matthias Ginter (Freiburg), Christian Günter (Freiburg), Thilo Kehrer (West Ham United), Lukas Klostermann (RB Leipzig), David Raum (RB Leipzig), Antonio Rüdiger (Real Madrid), Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund), Niklas Süle (Borussia Dortmund).

Midfielders: Julian Brandt (Borussia Dortmund), Leon Goretzka (Bayern Munich), Mario Götze (Eintracht Frankfurt), Ilkay Gündogan (Manchester City), Kai Havertz (Chelsea), Jonas Hofmann (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Leroy Sané (Bayern Munich)

Forwards: Niclas Füllkrug (Werder Bremen), Karim Adeyemi (Borussia Dortmund), Youssoufa Moukoko (Borussia Dortmund), Serge Gnabry (Bayern Munich), Thomas Müller (Bayern Munich)

In Group E, Germany will face Japan on 23 November, Spain on 27 November, with the final game of the group stage taking place against Costa Rica on 1 December.

The 26-man squad will meet in Frankfurt on Sunday and the next day they will travel to Oman for a three-day training camp, which will culminate with a friendly against Oman on Wednesday. From Oman, the German delegation will travel to their World Cup base at the Zulal Wellness-Resort in Qatar.