Arsenal defender, Shkodran Mustafi, will play no part in Germany’sdefence of the World Cup after being left out of Joachim Low’spreliminary squad for the tournament.
Mustafi was part of the squad that won the 2014 tournament and has 20 caps for Die Mannschaft but the centre-back, who has also been deployed on the right flank by Low, has not played for his country since August 2017.
He missed friendlies against England and France through injury but was not part of the most recent squad.
The 26-year-old has paid the price for a disappointing season at club level with Arsenal, where he has been the subject of repeat criticism for indifferent displays that have seen him make crucial errors against the likes of Southampton and Newcastle.
Low’s defending champions will also be without their match-winner from 2014, with no space for Borussia Dortmund’s Mario Gotze in the squad.
Low’s 27-man party, which will have to be trimmed by four on June 4 at the latest, contains few surprises. Freiburg striker Nils Petersen is the stand-out name; the 29-year-old has not been capped at senior level.
Manuel Neuer has also been included in the squad despite having been sidelined since September with a broken foot.
Germany’s preliminary World Cup squad
Goalkeepers: Bernd Leno (Bayer Leverkusen), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona), Kevin Trapp (Paris Saint-Germain)
Defenders: Jerome Boateng, Mats Hummels, Joshua Kimmich, Niklas Sule (Bayern Munich) Antonio Rudiger (Chelsea), Matthias Ginter (Borussia Monchengladbach), Jonas Hector (Cologne), Marvin Plattenhardt (Hertha Berlin), Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen)
