World Cup 2018: Leroy Sane Left Out of Germany World Cup Squad

Manchester City winger Leroy Sane has been left out of Germany’s final 23-man World Cup squad.

Sane, Bayer Leverkusen pair Bernd Leno and Jonathan Tah and Freiburg striker Nils Petersen were all dropped as Joachim Low cut the defending champions’ 27-man provisional squad.

Keeper Manuel Neuer, who came back after nine months out in Saturday’s 2-1 defeat by Austria, is in the squad.

Three Premier League players are selected.

Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger, City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan and Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil have all been named in the squad.

Germany are in Group F with Mexico, Sweden and South Korea, and play their first match on Sunday, 17 June.

Sane’s stellar season with City

Sane being dropped from the squad was a surprise after an excellent season with City, which saw him named the Premier League’s young player of the year.

He scored 14 goals and assisted 19 in all competitions as City won the league with five games to spare. Midfielder Ozil scored five times and made 14 assists for Arsenal.

However Ozil did create 84 chances in the Premier League, compared to Sane’s 58.

Low said it was a “very close decision” between Sane and Julian Brandt, who scored 12 goals and made seven assists for fifth-placed Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen this year.

Sane had played in six of Germany’s past seven games, including starting in their most recent game – Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Austria.

Germany’s 23-man squad in full

Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona), Kevin Trapp (Paris St-Germain)

Defenders: Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich), Matthias Ginter (Borussia Monchengladbach), Jonas Hector (Cologne), Mats Hummels (Bayern Munich), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Marvin Plattenhardt (Hertha Berlin), Antonio Rudiger (Chelsea), Niklas Sule (Bayern Munich)

Midfielders: Julian Brandt (Bayer Leverkusen), Julian Draxler (Paris St-Germain), Leon Goretska (Schalke), Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City), Sami Khedira (Juventus), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Mesut Ozil (Arsenal), Sebastian Rudy (Bayern Munich)

Strikers: Mario Gomez (Stuttgart), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund), Timo Werner (RB Leipzig)

Source: BBC