Germany taking Moukoko, 17, to World Cup; Reus misses out
BERLIN, Nov 10, (AP): Germany is taking 17-year-old striker Youssoufa Moukoko to the World Cup but Borussia Dortmund teammates Marco Reus and Mats Hummels have missed out.
Germany coach Hansi Flick named his 26-man squad for the tournament in Qatar on Thursday, rewarding Moukoko for scoring six goals and setting up four more in 13 Bundesliga appearances this season. Moukoko is the youngest player to reach 10 career Bundesliga goals. Last season, he became the youngest player to appear in the league.
“Youssoufa gives the team a lot. He’s fast, he’s lively,” Flick said. “We’re looking forward to him.”
Werder Bremen forward Niclas Füllkrug was another surprise callup, filling a gap left by Timo Werner’s injury. Füllkrug has 10 goals in 13 Bundesliga games this season.
“Momentum is on his side,” Flick said of Füllkrug, who was playing in the second division last season and had yet to play for
Germany.
Before
Flick named his squad, he referred to the human rights situation in
Qatar and recent homophobic comments made by former Qatar player Khalid Salman, a World Cup ambassador.
Germany squad:
Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer, Marc-André ter Stegen, Kevin Trapp.
Defenders: Thilo Kehrer, David Raum, Antonio Rüdiger, Niklas Süle, Matthias Ginter, Nico Schlotterbeck, Lukas Klostermann, Christian Günter, Armell Bella Kotchap.
Midfielders: Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, Jamal Musiala, Thomas Müller, İlkay Gündoğan, Jonas Hofmann, Mario Götze, Julian Brandt, Kai Havertz.
Forwards: Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sané, Karim Adeyemi, Niclas Füllkrug, Youssoufa Moukoko.
In Brussels, Romelu Lukaku was selected in Belgium’s 26-man squad for the World Cup on Thursday even though the striker is carrying a left thigh injury and has played only five games for Inter Milan this season.
Belgium squad:
Goalkeepers: Koen Casteels, Thibaut Courtois, Simon Mignolet.
Defenders: Toby Alderweireld, Zeno Debast, Leander Dendoncker, Wout Faes, Arthur Theate, Jan Vertonghen, Thomas Meunier, Timothy Castagne.
Midfielders: Kevin De Bruyne, Amadou Onana, Youri Tielemans, Hans Vanaken, Axel Witsel, Yannick Carrasco, Thorgan Hazard.
Forwards: Michy Batshuayi, Charles De Ketelaere, Jérémy Doku, Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku, Dries Mertens, Leandro Trossard.
In Manchester, James Maddison was a surprising inclusion for England when coach Gareth Southgate named his 26-man squad for the World Cup on Thursday.
England squad:
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope, Aaron Ramsdale.
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Conor Coady, Eric Dier, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, John Stones, Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker, Ben White.
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham, Conor Gallagher, Jordan Henderson, Mason Mount, Kalvin Phillips, Declan Rice.
Forwards: Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Harry Kane, James Maddison, Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, Raheem Sterling, Callum Wilson.
In Paris, France coach Didier Deschamps picked central defenders Raphael Varane and Prensel Kimpembe, but left out standout goalkeeper Mike Maignan in a World Cup squad announced Wednesday amid injury concerns.
Deschamps announced his 25-man squad on national television. Defending champion France opens against Australia on Nov. 22, and the squad flies to Qatar next Wednesday.
France squad:
Goalkeepers: Alphone Areola, Hugo Lloris, Steve Mandanda.
Defenders: Lucas Hernandez, Theo Hernandez, Presnel Kimpembe, Ibrahima Konate, Jules Kounde, Benjamin Pavard, William Saliba, Dayot Upamecano, Raphael Varane.
Midfielders: Eduardo Camavinga, Youssouf Fofana, Matteo Guendouzi, Adrien Rabiot, Aurelien Tchouameni, Jordan Veretout.
Forwards: Karim Benzema, Kingsley Coman, Ousmane Dembele, Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe, Christopher Nkunku.
In England, Wales head coach Robert Page has dismissed concerns about Gareth Bale’s fitness after including the former Real Madrid forward in his World Cup squad on Wednesday.
In Warsaw, Poland captain Robert Lewandowski will shoulder his country’s World Cup hopes as the star name in coach Czesław Michniewicz’s squad for the tournament in Qatar.
Michniewicz, formerly coach of Poland’s Under-21s then Legia Warsaw, announced his 26-player team on Thursday and said it was the “most important decision of my life.”
The 34-year-old Lewandowski, Poland’s record scorer with 76 goals in 134 appearances, will captain the squad as he looks to get his first goals at a World Cup.
Lewandowski failed to get on the mark in his only previous World Cup appearance in Russia in 2018, when Jan Bednarek and Grzegorz Krychowiak got the team’s only goals as Poland was eliminated from the group stage after losses to Senegal and Colombia. Poland, already eliminated, then beat Japan in its final
SOCCER Poland squad
Goalkeepers: Bartłomiej Dragowski, Łukasz Skorupski, Wojciech Szczesny.
Defenders: Jan Bednarek (Aston Villa), Bartosz Bereszyiski (Sampdoria), Matty Cash (Aston Villa), Kamil Glik (Benevento), Robert Gumny (Augsburg), Artur Judrzejczyk (Legia Warsaw), Jakub Kiwior (Spezia), Mateusz Wieteska (Clermont), Nicola Zalewski (Roma).
Midfielders: Krystian Bielik, Przemyslaw Frankowski, Kamil Grosicki, Jakub Kamiski, Grzegorz Krychowiak, Michał Skóraa, Damian Szymaoski, Sebastian Szymaoski, Piotr Zielinski, Szymon Zurkowski.
Forwards: Robert Lewandowski, Arkadiusz Milik, Krzysztof Pittek, Karol Swiderski.
Wales squad:
Goalkeepers: Wayne Hennessey, Danny Ward, Adam Davies.
Defenders: Ben Davies, Ben Cabango, Tom Lockyer, Joe Rodon, Chris Mepham, Ethan Ampadu (Spezia), Chris Gunter, Neco Williams, Connor Roberts.
Midfielders: Sorba Thomas, Joe Allen, Matt Smith, Dylan Levitt, Harry Wilson, Joe Morrell, Jonny Williams , Aaron Ramsey, Rubin Colwill.
Forwards: Gareth Bale, Kieffer Moore, Mark Harris, Brennan Johnson, Dan James.
In Rabat, Striker Youssef En-Nesyri was selected in Morocco’s squad for the World Cup on Thursday despite failing to score a league goal this season for Spanish club Sevilla.
En-Nesyri is experienced with the national team, however, making 49 international appearances and scoring 14 goals, including one at the 2018 World Cup. But he faces competition for a starting place from Abderrazak Hamdallah, who plays for Saudi club Al-Ittihad.
Morocco squad:
Goalkeepers: Yassine Bounou, Munir Mohamedi, Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti.
Defenders: Nayef Aguerd, Yahia Attiyat Allah, Badr Benoun, Achraf Dari, Jawad El Yamiq, Achraf Hakimi, Noussair Mazraoui, Roman Saiss.
Midfielders: Selim Amallah, Sofyan Amrabat, Bilal El Khannous, Amine Harit, Yahya Jabrane, Azzedine Ounahi, Abdelhamid Sabiri.
Forwards: Abde Ezzalzouli, Zakaria Aboukhlal, Sofiane Boufal, Ilias Chair, Walid Cheddira (Bari), Youssef En-Nesyri, Abderrazak Hamdallah, Hakim Ziyech, Ream Wright.
In New york, Tim Ream, Haji Wright, Joe Scally and Sean Johnson made the United States’ World Cup roster, while Zack Steffen, Paul Arriola, Jordan Pefok and Ricardo Pepi were among those cut.
U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter made the long-awaited announcement Wednesday of the 26-man group that will gather in Qatar for training next week ahead of the opener against Wales on Nov. 21.
US squad:
Goalkeepers: Ethan Horvath, Sean Johnson, Matt Turner.
Defenders: Cameron CarterVickers, Sergiño Dest, Aaron Long, Shaq Moore, Tim Ream, Antonee Robinson, Joe Scally, DeAndre Yedlin, Walker Zimmerman.
Midfielders: Brenden Aaronson, Kellyn Acosta, Tyler Adams, Luca de la Torre, Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah, Cristian Roldan.
Forwards: Jesús Ferreira, Jordan Morris, Christian Pulisic, Gio Reyna, Josh Sargent (Norwich, England), Tim Weah, Haji Wright.