Loew Names Strong Squad for Gibraltar, Spain Matches
Germany coach Joachim Loew unveiled his 23-player squad on Friday for a Euro 2016 qualifier against Gibraltar on November 14 before a prestige friendly against Spain four days later at Vigo.
Loew had the luxury of recalling Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira and Borussia Dortmund's Marco Reus, following injuries, while Cologne defender Jonas Hector is named to the national squad for the first time.
The world champions take on the inexperienced minnows from Gibraltar in Group D action as they look to seal three points in style and improve their current fourth place position.
Khedira and Rues missed the last three internationals as Germany defeated Scotland 2-1, before losing for the first time against Poland 2-0, and conceding a late equalizer in the 1-1 draw against Ireland.
Bayern Munich strikers Thomas Mueller and Mario Goetze as well as Real Madrid's Toni Kroos are also included as the four-time world champions look to finish their year in style.
Loew opted to leave out Fiorentina's Mario Gomez who has just returned to action following a six week layoff due to a thigh injury while captain Bastian Schweinsteiger also misses out and has yet to play this season.
Gibraltar, who are making their international football debut this season in Euro 2016 qualifying, will have to shore up a leaky defense that has already conceded 17 goals in three matches.
"We want to finish the year on a positive note and with a convincing victory against Gibraltar," said Loew, who added that the match against Spain is "always special".
The coaches and players that won the World Cup in Brazil are set to be honored by German president Joachim Gauck for their achievements before attending the premiere of the film "The Mannschaft", a documentary retracing their route to glory in July.
Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Roman Weidenfeller (Dortmund), Ron-Robert Zieler (Hannover)
Defenders: Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich), Erik Durm (Dortmund), Matthias Ginter (Dortmund), Jonas Hector (Cologne), Benedikt Höwedes (Schalke), Shkodran Mustafi (Valencia/ESP), Antonio Rüdiger (Stuttgart), Sebastian Rudy (Hoffenheim)
Midfielders: Karim Bellarabi (Leverkusen), Lars Bender (Leverkusen), Sami Khedira (Real Madrid/ESP), Christoph Kramer (Moenchengladbach), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid/ESP), Marco Reus (Dortmund), Lukas Podolski (Arsenal/ENG), Andre Schurrle (Chelsea/ENG), Mario Goetze (Bayern Munich)
Strikers: Max Kruse (Moenchengladbach), Kevin Volland (Hoffenheim), Thomas Mueller (Bayern Munich)
Source: Agence France Presse
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