Germany Watch: One idiot’s prediction on a squad for the next World Cup qualifiers

As we know from his tenure at Bayern Munich, trying to decipher Hansi Flick’s thought process is incredibly hard.

With that, I’ll attempt the impossible — predicting Flick’s squad selections for the next international break. Flick selected 23 players for the last round, so we will use that as the baseline for this next set of qualifiers as well.

Here is the squad that was selected for the last round:

Attack (12)

Photo by Boris Streubel/Getty Images

• Thomas Muller, Bayern Munich
• Leroy Sane, Bayern Munich
• Serge Gnabry, Bayern Munich
• Joshua Kimmich, Bayern Munich
• Leon Goretzka, Bayern Munich
• Jamal Musiala, Bayern Munich
• Marco Reus, Borussia Dortmund
• İlkay Gündoğan, Manchester City
• Kai Havertz, Chelsea FC
• Florian Wirtz, Bayern Leverkusen
• Florian Neuhaus, Borussia Mönchengladbach
• Karim Adeyemi, RB Salzburg

Synopsis

Neuhaus — again — could be a player, who gets cut. Timo Werner is in injured, so he won’t get selected. We saw that Flick is considering calling up Mainz 05 striker Jonathan Burkardt or Wolfsburg’s Lukas Nmecha, but it might be tough to do that unless Neuhaus gets axed. Every other player seems like a sure thing for inclusion.

Notable omissions

• Timo Werner, Chelsea FC: Werner is hurt and not available to play.
• Jonathan Burkardt, Mainz 05: Burkardt might get the call, but his value to the U-21 squad is probably worth more than any value he can bring to the senior team.
• Lukas Nmecha, Wolfsburg: Another young forward, it is just a numbers game for Nmecha.

Defense (8)

Photo by Ralf Treese/DeFodi Images via Getty Images

• Niklas Sule, Bayern Munich
• Antonio Rudiger, Chelsea
• Matthias Ginter, Borussia Mönchengladbach
• Jonas Hofmann, Borussia Mönchengladbach
• Ridle Baku, Wolfsburg
• Thilo Kehrer, Paris Saint-Germain
• Nico Schlotterbeck, SC Freiburg
• David Raum, Hoffenheim

Synopsis

Germany’s defense is really banged up — just take a look below. Jerome Boateng could be in line for a call-up considering the limited depth options. Baku did not make the last cut, but should get the nod this time based on the amount of injuries.

Notable omissions

• Mats Hummels, Borussia Dortmund: Hummels is reportedly still not 100% and Flick has not ruled out an eventual return for the veteran, but now — again — might not be the right time.
• Lukas Klostermann, RB Leipzig: Klostermann is injured and will likely be rested.
• Robin Gosens, Atalanta: Gosens is injured and out of commission for a bit.
• Jerome Boateng, Olympique Lyon: It is possible that Boateng gets the nod given the injuries that Germany is facing, but it feels like he might not get a call until 2022.
• Emre Can, Borussia Dortmund: Can is injured and likely will not be called up.
• Marcel Halstenberg, RB Leipzig: Halstenberg is still injured.

Goalkeepers (3)

Photo by Stefan Matzke - sampics/Corbis via Getty Images

• Manuel Neuer, Bayern Munich
• Marc-Andre ter Stegen, FC Barcelona
• Bernd Leno, Arsenal FC

Synopsis

There is not much wiggle room here unless Flick goes completely off the radar.

Notable omissions

• Kevin Trapp, Eintracht Frankfurt: Leno is in no man’s land at Arsenal as he is the clear No. 2 now. If he does not make a move away from Arsenal this winter, Trapp could easily slide into Germany’s No. 3 role.