German national team assistant coach Danny Röhl spoke to German news portal “T-online” Friday about the state of Germany’s World Cup squad.
According to the co-trainer, roughly two-thirds of the 26-man roster is already fixed. Röhl also offered some specifics on Florian Wirtz and Lukas Klosterman.
With all the talk of a 44-man provisional roster being utilized as German Bundestrainer Hansi Flick and his staff prepare for the coming World Cup in Qatar, one of Flick’s trusted assistants claims that the current coaching regime has two-thirds of its sought-after squad complete. This translates to 17 players most assuredly headed to the Arabian Peninsula. Nine slots remain as the staff prepares to finalize its 26-man-squad.
“It will be painful for some players,” Röhl told Germany’s “T-online” news portal on Friday, “Everyone wants to go to the World Cup with Germany. But we have to consider what is best for the squad. It’s not only the tactical function of the players that plays a role, but also the personal chemistry.”
Röhl cast some doubt on whether Leverkusen phenom Florian Wirtz might be coming along. The 19-year-old is on the comeback trail from a brutal ACL injury sustained early in the calendar year. The German assistant coach laid down a clear requirement for Wirtz. Specifically, the teenager must log some match minutes.
“It’s not out of the question that we’ll take someone who hasn’t played a minute yet,” Röhl said, “But it would be desirable that at least one game could be played.”
“We get positive feedback when it comes to his rehab training,” Röhl added, “Flo has a lot of quality, is an incredibly good player between the lines and remains competitive in training. A guy like that brings us a lot. That’s why we’re following his recovery very closely.”
Röhl also commented on RB Leipzig defender Lukas Klostermann. The one-time DFB starting fullback may end up being the solution for die Nationalmannschaft in the right fullback slot. The 18-times capped international is nevertheless struggling with his own injury woes. He’s been limited to just one appearance this season.
“We want to find out if such types of players are ready for the World Cup and if so, in what form,” Röhl said of Klostermann, who should be back fit for his club team in time to partake in the competition, “[The question is] whether he will be usable in the tournament.”
RB head-coach Marco Rose also spoke on Klostermann at his Friday presser.
“We have every hope of being able to send him to Qatar,” Rose noted when asked about the 26-year-old, “because he has something that the national team can use. We’re in close contact with Hansi [Flick] That makes me happy for Klosti [Klostermann] and motivates him. We will do everything to work towards the national team. And of course we have a great interest in him [being fit] ourselves.”