Free kick, man of the match: Germany newcomer Keidel leads Elversberg past Mainz 4-1
Felix Keidel scored a free kick and set up a goal in Elversberg's 4-1 win over Mainz. He says there has been no contact with Germany coach Klopp ahead of the squad announcement on 5 November.
Archive image · Photo: Simon Mannweiler / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Felix Keidel made his case at the start of Bundesliga Matchday 8. In SV Elversberg's 4-1 (3-0) win over 1. FSV Mainz 05 on Friday night, the 23-year-old opened the scoring in the 7th minute, curling a free kick from around 20 metres around the wall and into the corner. He also delivered the corner that led to Maurice Krattenmacher's 3-0. Fans voted him man of the match. Francis Onyeka and Cole Campbell, with a scissor kick, scored the promoted side's other goals, while Benedict Hollerbach pulled one back late for Mainz.
Keidel was called up to the senior national team for the first time by head coach Jürgen Klopp in September. After the match he said, according to Get German Football News, that he had noticed the wall standing slightly too far left and aimed for the open right corner. Asked about any contact with the national coach before the next squad, he reportedly said there had been none. Klopp names his squad for the games in Serbia (13 November) and against the Netherlands (16 November) on 5 November.
Elversberg have 13 points after eight games and briefly moved into a European place with the win. It was Mainz's third defeat in a week. Captain Nadiem Amiri and striker Phillip Tietz, recently mentioned as a Germany candidate, were both substituted in the 63rd minute.