“I would have liked to stay” – Kimmich reluctantly leaves Germany squad after Greece defeat

Joshua Kimmich understands why Jürgen Klopp has decided to call up two separate squads, but admits he would have preferred to stay with Germany for the remaining two UEFA Nations League fixtures during the international break.

Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images

After drawing 1-1 with the Netherlands away and losing 0-1 to Greece at home, Germany will now head into the upcoming games against Serbia (H) and Greece (A) with a much-changed team.

For his first selection as Germany head coach, Jürgen Klopp decided to call up a total of 44 players and split them into two groups. After the first two games, most of the players in the first group will now travel home – including captain Joshua Kimmich.

Speaking after Sunday’s defeat to Greece, Kimmich admitted to mixed feelings about leaving the squad, revealing that he would have preferred to stay for the next two games.

“I would have liked to stay, but I also understand that the coach wants to get to know some other players. That was the plan from the beginning, that we would rotate the squads. Accordingly, I’ll be cheering the team on from home,” Kimmich told reporters.

Klopp decided to keep six of the players initially named in the first squad for the next two games as well, but Kimmich was not among them.

“I was hoping a little bit until the end that I might be able to stay,” he admitted.

Here is the 25-man squad Germany and Klopp will use for the two upcoming October games.