There have been a number of surprising omissions from World Cup squads this summer – Mauro Icardi, Radja Nainggolan, Joe Hart and Jack Wilshere among them – but Joachim Löw’s decision to leave Leroy Sané at home has undoubtedly been the biggest. The PFA Young Player of the Year and Premier League winner enjoyed a superb season for Manchester City, with his absence from the Germany squad shining further light on the remarkable talent at the reigning champions’ disposal.
Faced with the choice of Sané and Julian Brandt for his final spot out wide, Löw went with the Bayer Leverkusen youngster. “That was a very close decision between him [Sané] and Julian Brandt,” said the head coach. “Draxler, Reus and Müller are set. Leroy is a huge talent. He will be back again from September. He had not arrived in international matches yet. It was a very close decision. If it was a 100 metre race, it would have been a photo finish. There are certainly easier days in the life of a national team head coach than the day where I have to send players home. The disappointment was huge, as you would expect. It’s as if you are stood at the check-in desk for your flight to Moscow, but are then prevented from boarding.”