Following the injuries of Felix Nmecha and Aleksandar Pavlovic, head coach Julian Nagelsmann will also have to leave Jamie Leweling out of the squad for the upcoming internationals. The four‑time national team player from VfB Stuttgart has flown home from the national‑team base in Herzogenaurach because of muscular problems, the DFB announced on Tuesday. To fill the gaps left by Nmecha and Pavlovic, Nagelsmann has called up Angelo Stiller and Chris Fuhrich from VfB Stuttgart. No replacement appears to be lined up for Leweling, so the squad will shrink from 26 to 25 players.
Germany opens this World Cup‑year’s campaign on 27 March in Basel against Switzerland, then heads to Stuttgart on 30 March for a match against Ghana. In the 54 encounters to date with Switzerland, the German side have won 36, the Swiss have won 9, and there have been 9 draws. Ghana has faced Germany only three times: a 6‑1 victory for Germany in a friendly in 1993, and in the 2010 and 2014 World Cups Germany secured a win and a draw, respectively.
