Thomas Muller, Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng have once again been overlooked by Joachim Low for the latest Germany squad, and team manager Oliver Bierhoff has backed the coach’s decision.
The long-serving stalwarts have not been included for the national team for over 18 months, having initially been dropped for the fixtures in March 2019.
It was a shockwave around the national team, who had been expecting ramifications after the 2018 World Cup that did not immediately come.
While Low’s side are still not firing on all cylinders, Bayern duo Muller and Boateng, and Dortmund centre-back Hummels remain out in the cold, despite showing excellent club form.
“I’m pleased that they are performing so well,” Bierhoff told the media on Monday, backing the coach. “Jogi's statements are not made out of stubbornness, but about how we are giving young players room for development and trust.”
The scorer of the decisive goals in Euro 96 has drawn upon his own experience to rule out any of them returning in the foreseeable future.
“What would a return of these players mean for the group dynamic?” he said. “In 1998, Lothar Matthaus was brought back for the World Cup. He's a great guy, behaved very well, but of course it did something to the team, others withdrew.”
Meanwhile, he did not close the door on Mario Gotze, who has recently signed for PSV and has created two goals in his three league appearances.
“I'm happy that Mario has made an impression so quickly,” he said. “Jogi is not a fan of quick action, but Mario Gotze in good shape can always be a possibility. We would do well to keep all our options open.”
Germany play a Wednesday friendly against the Czech Republic before a Nations League clash at home against Ukraine on Saturday and a trip to Spain in the same competition on November 17.
They have won only one of their four fixtures in the Nations League but have drawn their other three. As such, they sit second in League A Group 4, just a single point behind leaders Spain.
Jérôme Boateng 
Mats Hummels 
Germany 
