Völler confirms Klopp will ditch 44-man Germany squad

Rudi Völler has confirmed that Jürgen Klopp's decision to include 44 players in his squad was a one-off.

Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images

Jürgen Klopp made a surprising call with his first squad selection as Germany coach, naming 44 players for the four UEFA Nations League matches during this international break and splitting them into two groups.

For the 59-year-old, this was a one-off experiment designed to give him the chance to assess as many players on his radar as possible following his appointment.

Germany sporting director Rudi Völler confirmed this after Sunday’s 0-1 UEFA Nations League defeat to Greece, making it clear that Klopp will only name one squad for the international fixtures in November.

“November is when it counts, then we will see Jürgen’s condensed squad. There won’t be 44 players invited anymore,” Völler underlined.

He also stressed that the current squad “is not set in stone either”, giving hope to players such as Angelo Stiller, Deniz Undav, Maximilian Beier and Leroy Sané, who were not included in the extended group this time.

Völler also made it clear that he had not sought direct conversations with the players who were previously part of the squad but were left out this time.

“That’s just how it is in professional football. Sometimes you don’t get selected, and you have to deal with it and prove yourself," he said.