Manchester United midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger has been included in Germany’s preliminary 27-man squad for Euro 2016 to be held in France next month.
The 31-year-old has been named as the German captain by Joachim Low despite not playing for United since March because of a knee ligament injury sustained in Germany’s 3-2 friendly defeat by England.
Congrats to Joshua #Kimmich, @JuWeigl and Julian #Brandt on earning their first #DieMannschaft call-up! #EURO2016 pic.twitter.com/nXnewDx730
— Germany (@DFB_Team_EN) May 17, 2016
Liverpool midfielder Emre Can has taken his game to a new level this season under Jurgen Klopp, and has been included in the Germany squad. Likewise, Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil has been simply outstanding for the Gunners, with him being directly involved in 25 goals (6 goals, 19 assists) this season in the Premier League.
Former Arsenal forward Lukas Podolski has got a call-up as well. He would be appearing at his seventh successive tournament if selected having already managed 127 games for Germany.
Among the newcomers, the uncapped pair of Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich, 21, and Julian Brandt, 20, of Bayer Leverkusen, are included while Borussia Dortmund’s 20-year-old midfielder Julian Weigl gets a deserved national team call-up after an outstanding 2015-16 campaign.
The youngster has made 50 appearances for Dortmund, starting in 41, and recently has set a new Bundesliga record when he took possession of the ball 214 times in Dortmund’s 2-2 draw against Cologne last Saturday.
Germany boast a wealth of attacking talents in Real Madrid’s Toni Kroos, Bayern’s Thomas Muller and Mario Gotze, Dortmund’s Marco Reus, Wolfsburg’s Julian Draxler and Leroy Sane of Schalke but Lowe hasn’t picked enough out-and-out striker with Mario Gomez, who won league title with Besiktas, likely to operate as a lone forward.
The world champions are in Group C with Northern Ireland, Poland and Ukraine.
Germany’s 27-man provisional squad for Euro 2016
Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Bernd Leno (Bayer Leverkusen), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona)
Defenders: Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich), Emre Can (Liverpool), Jonas Hector (Cologne), Benedikt Howedes (Schalke 04), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), Shkodran Mustafi (Valencia), Sebastian Rudy (Hoffenheim), Antonio Rudiger (AS Roma)
Midfielders: Karim Bellarabi (Bayer Leverkusen), Julian Brandt (Bayer Leverkusen), Julian Draxler (Wolfsburg), Mario Gotze (Bayern Munich), Sami Khedira (Juventus), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Mesut Ozil (Arsenal), Lukas Podolski (Galatasaray), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund), Leroy Sane (Schalke 04), Andre Schurrle (Wolfsburg), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Manchester United), Julian Weigl (Borussia Dortmund)
Striker: Mario Gomez (Fiorentina)
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