The provisional squads for Euro 2016 continue to be announced in quick succession with world champions Germany the latest to reveal their group of players.
Joachim Low has opted to name 27 players in his initial group, with four players facing the axe ahead of the deadline to name the final squad for this summer’s tournament in France later this month.
Many of the expected individuals have been included, with the likes of Manuel Neuer, Mats Hummels, Toni Kroos, Thomas Muller and Marco Reus likely to form the core of the squad aiming to add the European crown to their World Cup triumph in Brazil two years ago.
While the likes of Julian Weigl and Joshua Kimmich will be delighted to make the squad after impressing this year, there have been early question marks raised over the inclusion of both Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski.
Schweinsteiger is a particularly surprising inclusion given his injury troubles with Manchester United this year, as he hasn’t featured since March for Louis van Gaal’s side.
Podolski has been a popular figure in the international set-up for many years now, and keeps his place in Low’s plans thanks to his 12 goals in 29 league appearances for Galatasaray this season.
Provisional Germany squad for Euro 2016:
Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer, Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Bernd Leno
Defenders: Shkodran Mustafi, Jonas Hector, Benedikt Howedes, Mats Hummels, Emre Can, Sebastian Rudy, Jerome Boateng, Antonio Rudiger
Midfielders/Forwards: Sami Khedira, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mesut Ozil, Andre Schurrle, Lukas Podolski, Marco Reus, Thomas Muller, Karim Bellarabi, Toni Kroos, Mario Gotze, Julian Draxler, Mario Gomez, Leroy Sane, Julian Brandt, Julian Weigl and Joshua Kimmich.
And here is the provisional #DieMannschaft squad for #EURO2016 in full! #JederFuerJeden pic.twitter.com/XAlRuMnfFy
— Germany (@DFB_Team_EN) May 17, 2016