Julian Nagelsmann addresses National team selection ahead of the March international break

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·13 March 2025

Julian Nagelsmann addresses National team selection ahead of the March international break

Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann has addressed some of his choices in the German national team, such as explaining his reasoning (via @iMiaSanMia) for recalling Leon Goretzka to the national team after he was previously excluded last year.

On Thursday, Nagelsmann announced his Germany squad for the upcoming international break, the surprise inclusion was Mainz’s Nadiem Amiri, but elsewhere, Goretzka also received a recall.

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The midfielder has been absent from the German national team since 2023 and spent the whole of last year as an outcast of the national team, but this year, after strong performances with Bayern Munich, his fortunes have changed. On why he recalled the midfielder, Nagelsmann revealed:

“The crucial point for every player is our sporting assessment: Does he deserve to be there or not? And then, after this sporting assessment, there are always a few other topics. I think Leon is having a very good phase from a sporting perspective; he’s had a very good season, and I think he’s also developed well in some areas. He had a very difficult phase at Bayern, just as he did with us on the national team. He fought his way out of it well. He’s playing a key role. He’s found a good balance between being an attacking goal threat and also playing well in the build-up play. In general, he fits the idea of how we want to play very well I’m extremely happy that he’ll be back here on Monday, and he’ll be extremely happy too. The national team is something very special for him, and I’m certain he will perform well for us as well”

Goretzka spent much of the early part of the season being outcasted by Bayern as well as they try to force him to leave. However, the 30-year-old resisted and continued to fight for his place at the club and due to a string of injuries to the likes of Aleksandar Pavlovic and João Palhinha, he regained his place in the starting 11 and then rewarded head coach Vincent Kompany with several solid performances.

Elsewhere, Nagelsmann addressed the goalkeeping question once again:

“As of now, the plan is for us to have a number one for both games. We’ll talk to the players first. I won’t say their names now. Stefan [Ortega] is number 3”

In the previous international break, Nagelsmann used this tactic with Alexander Nübel playing against Bosnia and Herzegovina while Oliver Baumann played against the Netherlands.

Germany play Italy in Milan on the 20th March before facing them in the second leg of the Nations League in Dortmund on the 23rd.

GGFN | Jack Meenan