Germany are taking 17-year-old striker Youssoufa Moukoko to the World Cup though Borussia Dortmund teammates Marco Reus and Mats Hummels have missed out.
Coach Hansi Flick named his 26-man squad for Qatar on Thursday, rewarding Moukoko for scoring six goals and setting up four more in 13 Bundesliga appearances this season. Moukoko is the youngest player to clock 10 career Bundesliga goals. Last season, he became the youngest player to appear in the league.
“Youssoufa gives the team a lot. He’s fast, he’s lively. We’re looking forward to him,” Flick said. Werder Bremen forward Niclas Fullkrug was another surprise call-up, filling a gap left by Timo Werner’s injury. Fullkrug has 10 goals in 13 Bundesliga games this season.
Before Flick named his squad, he referred to the human rights situation in Qatar and homophobic comments made by former Qatar player Khalid Salman, a World Cup ambassador.
“It leaves us speechless, stunned,” Flick said of the comments. “It just happened in the last few days. It’s extremely important on one hand that we as the DFB (German soccer federation) and the players clearly focus on the sports, yes, but of course we also have to address what the human rights situation is like in Qatar. We’ll have to keep our eyes and ears open there.”
Romelu Lukaku of Belgium. File picture
Money on Giroud
Olivier Giroud was named in France’s squad as coach Didier Deschamps named a 25- man group amid injury concerns for the champions.
Olivier Giroud was named in France’s squad as coach Didier Deschamps named a 25- man group amid injury concerns for the champions.
The experienced striker, recalled in March after a nine-month hiatus following the team’s early Euro 2021 exit, has been in good form for AC Milan and France and is two goals shy of Thierry Henry’s all-time national scoring record of 51 goals.
“He knows where he stands. He knows what my position is. It’s better for the French team that he is with us,” said Deschamps.
Several players have been struggling with injuries, including Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema, PSG centre back Presnel Kimpembe and Manchester United defender Raphael Varane. “I know he (Benzema) will do everything to be at 100 percent in time,” said Deschamps.
With Paul Pogba and Ngolo Kante injured and ruled out, Aurelien Tchouameni, Adrien Rabiot and Eduardo Camavinga were among the six midfielders named. Up front, Kylian Mbappe was named along with Giroud, Benzema, Kingsley Coman, Ousmane Dembele, Antoine Griezmann and Christopher Nkunku.
Injured duo included
Belgium coach Roberto Martinez has included injured striker Romelu Lukaku and playmaker Eden Hazard in his 26-man squad, saying he will give the former “every second” to regain his fitness for the tournament.
Lukaku has been suffering with a hamstring injury which, coupled with a thigh problem earlier this season, means he has played just twice since August and is currently sidelined for Inter Milan.
But Martinez has previously stated that as long as Lukaku could feature in one of the Group F games, he would include him. Having named four players on a standby list he has until 24 hours before Belgium’s first game against Canada on November 23 to draft them into the squad if anyone is not fit.
Pele wants sixth star
Pele. File picture
Rio de Janeiro: Brazil great Pele backed the team to live up to their billing as World Cup favourites and capture a record-extending sixth title in Qatar, saying he has full confidence in the 26-man squad selected by head coach Tite.
Sharing his thoughts on Instagram alongside a picture of himself wearing a Brazil jersey from his playing days, the 82-year-old said he hoped to see another star above their crest.
“The last time I wore the shirt of the Brazilian team we inaugurated the three stars above the crest,” Pele captioned the picture. “Now we have five. I can’t wait to add the sixth star.”
Reuters
World Cup squads
GERMANY
⚫ Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Kevin Trapp lDefenders: Thilo Kehrer, David Raum, Antonio Rudiger, Niklas Sule, Matthias Ginter, Nico Schlotterbeck, Lukas Klostermann, Christian Gunter, Armell Bella Kotchap
⚫ Midfielders: Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, Jamal Musiala, Thomas Mueller, Ilkay Gundogan, Jonas Hofmann, Mario Goetze, Julian Brandt, Kai Havertz
⚫ Forwards: Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane, Karim Adeyemi, Niclas Fullkrug, Youssoufa Moukoko.
FRANCE
⚫ Goalkeepers: Alphonse Areola, Hugo Lloris, Steve Mandanda lDefenders: Lucas Hernandez, Theo Hernandez, Presnel Kimpembe, Ibrahima Konate, Jules Kounde, Benjamin Pavard, William Saliba, Dayot Upamecano, Raphael Varane
⚫ Midfielders: Eduardo Camavinga, Youssouf Fofana, Matteo Guendouzi, Adrien Rabiot, Aurelien Tchouameni, Jordan Veretout
⚫ Forwards: Karim Benzema, Kingsley Coman, Ousmane Dembele, Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe, Christopher Nkunku
BELGIUM
⚫ Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois, Simon Mignolet, Koen Casteels lDefenders: Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld, Leander Dendoncker, Zeno Debast, Arthur Theate, Wout Faes
⚫ Midfielders: Hans Vanaken, Axel Witsel, Youri Tielemans, Amadou Onana, Kevin De Bruyne, Yannick Carrasco, Thorgan Hazard, Timothy Castagne, Thomas Meunier
⚫ Forwards: Romelu Lukaku, Michy Batshuayi, Loïs Openda, Charles De Ketelaere, Eden Hazard, Jeremy Doku, Dries Mertens, Leandro Trossard.
MOROCCO
⚫ Goalkeepers: Yassine Bounou, Munir El Kajoui, Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti
⚫ Defenders: Nayef Aguerd, Yahia Attiat Allah, Badr Benoun, Achraf Dari, Jawad El Yamiq, Achraf Hakimi, Noussair Mazraoui, Romain Saiss
⚫ Midfielders: Sofyan Amrabat, Selim Amallah, Bilal El Khannouss, Yahya Jabrane, Azzedine Ounahi, Abdelhamid Sabiri lForwards: Zakaria Aboukhlal, Soufiane Boufal, Ilias Chair, Walid Cheddira, Youssef En-Nesyri, Abde Ezzalzouli, Abderrazak Hamdallah, Amine Harit, Hakim Ziyech.
POLAND
⚫ Goalkeepers: Wojciech Szczesny, Bartlomiej Dragowski, Lukasz Skorupski
⚫ Defenders: Jan Bednarek, Kamil Glik, Robert Gumny, Artur Jedrzejczyk, Jakub Kiwior, Mateusz Wieteska, Bartosz Bereszynski, Matty Cash, Nicola Zalewski.
⚫ Midfielders: Krystian Bielik, Przemyslaw Frankowski, Kamil Grosicki, Grzegorz Krychowiak, Jakub Kaminski, Michal Skoras, Damian Szymanski, Sebastian Szymanski, Piotr Zielinski, Szymon Zurkowski.
⚫ Forwards: Robert Lewandowski, Arkadiusz Milik, Krzysztof Piatek, Karol Swiderski.
UNITED STATES
⚫ Goalkeepers: Ethan Horvath, Sean Johnson, Matt Turner
⚫ Defenders: Cameron Carter-Vickers, Sergino Dest, Aaron Long, Shaq Moore, Tim Ream, Antonee Robinson, Joe Scally, DeAndre Yedlin, Walker Zimmerman
⚫ Midfielders: Brenden Aaronson, Kellyn Acosta, Tyler Adams, Luca de la Torre, Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah, Cristian Roldan
⚫ Forwards: Jesus Ferreira, Jordan Morris, Christian Pulisic, Gio Reyna, Josh Sargent, Tim Weah, Haji Wright