Are the BVB German Trio Out of Jogi Low’s Plans for Good?

When you are the World Cup favourite, you do not settle for easy preparations for the tournament. Such is life for Die Mannschaft who will face Spain and Brazil during this international break. The big news for BVB fans was the absence of the German Trio – Mario Götze, Andre Schürrle, and Marco Reus – from the roster. German manager Joachim Löw has admitted Reus is being slowly eased back into play after his layoff, and a rest during the break will help for the summer. The other two were simply not called up for these friendlies.

Should Dortmund fans be concerned about the absences, and why did Löw pick the players he did against potential competition for the trophy?

Let us set aside Reus. As long as he is healthy – which as we all know is always a big if – he is in the mix for a call-up and playing time. Reus is too talented and has too good of a history with the national side to be excluded until time and age take away his gifts.

That leaves Mario Götze and Andre Schürrle, both of whom are fairly young (25 and 27) and both of whom have their own international pedigree. Both of course have battled injuries this season but have played fairly well during the course of the season. Is their exclusion just about form or something else?

When you examine the roster of players called up, it does look like form is a key determinate of whether you received a call into camp. Expected to start up top for Germany is Mario Gomez, who even at age 32 is having a good season for Stuttgart and is the leading German scorer in the domestic league. The Bayern pair of Müller and Sandro Wagner are still performing well but for Wagner with seven caps at age 30, this could be his last chance to impress for a World Cup side.

The midfield as we all know for Germany is equally “stacked”. Once you get past the usual amazing names of Özil, Kroos, and Khedira you have some intriguing talent doing great things at the club level. Leon Goretzka in particular looks like the latest Bundesliga player to move to Bayern and secure more playing time with the national side.

There is the biggest worry for BVB fans hoping their German 3 are Die Mannschaft regulars. There is a number of good, young players in this squad that are ready to potentially push aside their “elders” who may not be performing. Up top Timo Werner legitimately could start for Germany in the World Cup, and these two friendlies could be an ideal chance to see how he performs under pressure. In the mdfield, you have four players under the age of 25 who if they were any other nationality would be automatic starters for their national team; instead, players like Emre Can and Leroy Sane could be battling for final spots on this roster. The German BVB Trio are not advanced age but the next wave of talented German youth coming up could displace the a generation of German players who are a few years older, have more caps, but have struggled to excel match in, match out at the club level.