Germany released its call-ups...and Bayern Munich stars Leon Goretzka and Thomas Müller were left home

Former Bayern Munich coach Hansi Flick released his latest squad for the upcoming international break and there were several key omissions, including a few Bayern Munich players which might have fans scratching their heads a bit.

Notably, Bayern Munich stars Leon Goretzka and Thomas Müller will be left home, but injured attacker Jamal Musiala received the call. Below is the list:

For comparison, this is the list of Flick’s callups from earlier in the summer:

BFW Analysis

Assessing the squad is difficult at this stage, but Flick has his work cut out for him with this group.

Goalkeepers

• Marc-André ter Stegen, FC Barcelona
• Kevin Trapp, Eintracht Frankfurt
• Oliver Baumann, Hoffenheim

BFW Analysis: The big names not here are Manuel Neuer and Bernd Leno. Neuer, of course, is hurt, but Leno’s status on the squad has been in doubt for quite a while. Baumann likely will not play, but might be the best third option Flick has right now.

Defenders

• Robin Gosens, Union Berlin
• Benjamin Henrichs, RB Leipzig
• Antonio Rüdiger, Real Madrid
• Nico Schlotterbeck, Borussia Dortmund
• Niklas Süle, Borussia Dortmund
• Jonathan Tah, Bayer Leverkusen
• Malik Thiaw, AC MIlan
• Marius Wolf, Borussia Dortmund

BFW Analysis: This group looks weak...really weak, though it is more a reflection of the positional depth. Lukas Klostermann has been hurt, but would not have moved the needle too much. Same for SC Freiburg’s Christian Günter, a fine player, but not one who was going to make a drastic improvement to the group. David Raum was a staple for quite a while on the squad, but has been very shaky for RB Leipzig, so his exclusion was not wholly unexpected. Flick also finally cut ties with Thilo Kehrer after a disastrous run for Germany.

Midfield

• Emre Can, Borussia Dortmund
• Pascal Groß, Brighton & Hove Albion
• İlkay Gündoğan, FC Barcelona
• Joshua Kimmich, Bayern Munich
• Felix Nmecha, Borussia Dortmund

BFW Analysis: Goretzka’s omission is...bizarre. The midfielder rose to fame under Flick and has been so far great this season. Leaving him home (at least initially makes no sense). Groß’s inclusion was very surprising. Otherwise, this is not an overly impressive group. Julian Brandt and Emre Can could also see time in the midfield as well.

Attack

• Julian Brandt, Borussia Dortmund
• Niclas Füllkrug, Werder Bremen (pending move to Borussia Dortmund)
• Serge Gnabry, Bayern Munich
• Kai Havertz, Arsenal FC
• Jamal Musiala, Bayern Munich
• Leroy Sané, Bayern Munich
• Kevin Schade, Brentford
• Florian Wirtz, Bayer Leverkusen

BFW Analysis: Timo Werner is the big name — not tied to Bayern Munich — who was left home. Flick not calling Müller is not necessarily a shock due to the veteran coming off of an injury, but he actually might have been able to use the playing time.

Flick’s inclusion of Havertz is a bit puzzling as he has looked extremely shaky for Arsenal FC and also because he is more of a central midfielder these days. Karim Adeyemi and Youssoufa Moukoko just have not reached the level (yet) that many expected.

Overall

There are....a lot of Borussia Dortmund players listed above, but Flick did provide some insight on why he left some players home.

“I spoke to [Goretzka] yesterday, he knows about my thoughts. It’s nothing definitive. I appreciate Leon a lot, but we have our thoughts. We want to see a reaction from those who are not there,” Flick told Bild (as captured by BuLiNews.com). “Timo Werner is a player I really appreciate, who gives us a lot. At the moment, he’s not quite in form at his club either, and he needs to work on certain things. I’m convinced that both he and Leon will return to the national team.”

Some other notable exclusions not reference above include:

• Armel Bella-Kotchap, Southampton (pending move to Borussia Dortmund)
• Mergim Berisha, FC Augsburg
• Felix Nmecha, Wolfsburg
• Ridle Baku, Wolfsburg
• Mario Götze, Eintracht Frankfurt

Surely, there are others, drop them in the comments below!