Date confirmed: Klopp names squad on 5 November – a small group instead of an XXL squad
The DFB has confirmed the date: on Thursday, 5 November, Jürgen Klopp names his squad for Serbia and the Netherlands. Instead of 44, there will be only around two dozen players.
Archive image · Photo: Alexander Migl / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Germany head coach Jürgen Klopp will announce his squad for the year's final two Nations League group games on Thursday, 5 November – before Bundesliga matchday 9. The DFB announced this on Wednesday. Unlike in September and October, when Klopp spread 44 players across two squads for four games, the group will be considerably smaller. “Of course we won't go in with 44 players,” Klopp had said according to dpa, speaking of 23 or 24 players. He added: “We won't play two different games with two different teams.”
The squad meets in Herzogenaurach on 9 November. On 13 November (20:45 CET, RTL) Germany play Serbia in Belgrade – behind closed doors because of a UEFA sanction against the Serbian federation. On 16 November (20:45 CET, ARD) they face the Netherlands at Berlin's Olympiastadion. In third place with five points, Germany need wins to reach one of the two quarter-final spots; the Netherlands and Greece have eight points each.
There is keen interest in whether Klopp will recall Werder striker Niclas Füllkrug, who has been scoring regularly. According to dpa, 20-year-old Under-21 international Paris Brunner of AS Monaco is also a candidate for a first call-up. Klopp has already stressed that the team does not have to start from scratch.