Bayer 04 Leverkusen’s Nadiem Amiri has been named in the senior Germany squad for the first time. Leon Goretzka and Nico Schulz are both unavailable due to injury. These are the only changes to the squad from the international break in September. The team will face Argentina at the Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund on 9th October (20:45 CEST) and will travel to Tallin to play Estonia on 13th October in European Championship qualifying. Three World Cup winners from 2014 are included in the squad: Manuel Neuer (c), Toni Kroos and Matthias Ginter.

Joachim Löw spoke about his side’s current situation: “We are on course in Euros qualifying. Of course, we want to get a convincing win in Estonia and take home three more points. The team and the players are still developing and it’s our job to be patient with them, to give them space, time and trust. They need to learn for themselves and games against strong opponents like Argentina, where the result is not all that matters, are a great opportunity for that. We are currently without quite a few players, such as Sané, Rüdiger, Draxler, Kehrer, Goretzka and Schulz, who would normally be part of our setup. It’s not ideal in terms of our development because it’s important to have consistency and continuity. On the other hand, it gives more young, hungry players the chance to play for us. We are delighted we can now get to know Nadiem Amiri personally. He played well at the recent U21s European Championship and has been putting in good performances for his club, so he has earned his call-up.”

Joachim Löw also provided clarification with regards to the goalkeeper situation: “We can all be very happy that we have two world-class goalkeepers in Manuel Neuer and Marc-André ter Stegen. I have no concerns about this position at all, especially as we also have the likes of Kevin Trapp and Bernd Leno. I have repeatedly emphasised that Manuel Neuer is our captain and therefore our number one for the Euros, unless something unexpected happens. Every player faces competition for his place. Andy Köpe and I have decided that Marc will play against Argentina and Manu against Estonia. We discussed that with the players as well.”

Germany and Argentina have met in three World Cup finals and on two occasions, in 1990 and 2014, Germany came out on top and were crowned champions. Argentina lead the way in the overall head-to-head with ten wins from 22 games, while Germany are just behind on eight.

Germany have a flawless record against Estonia – played four, won four. The last time the teams met in Euros qualifying on 11th June 2019 in Mainz, it ended 8-0. Estonia are currently bottom of Group C. Germany are top with 12 points from five games. Northern Ireland are second, also with 12 points, but have a worse goal difference (+3) than Germany (+11).

(DFB)