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Germany coach Loew appoints Leverkusen's Tah

Xinhua, March 19, 2016 Adjust font size:

Bayer Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah has earned his first call-up for Germany's national team, head coach Joachim Loew announced on Friday.

Loew revealed his 27-men squad for the upcoming friendlies against England and Italy. The squad is composed of 23 outfield players and four goalkeepers. However, Jonathan Tah is the only newcomer in the well-known national squad.

"Due to the injuries of Jerome Boateng and Benedikt Hoewedes, we needed another option in our defence. We scouted Jonathan Tah a number of times and we are curious how he will perform," Loew said.

Dortmund's Ilkay Guendogan did not make it into the squad as he is still on the road to recovery. Thus, Bayern's Mario Goetze and Manchester's Bastian Schweinsteiger, who returned from injuries, earn their place in the team.

Loew appointed a 27-men squad "as it is important to communicate all the players what we expect from them, in reference to the EURO 2016 in France."

The "Nationalmannschaft" host England on March 26 before they see Italy three days later. "These games are absolute football classics, the kind of games one wishes for. They are a good opportunity to start positively and to get in the right mood for the EURO 2016," said Loew.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (FC Bayern Munich), Bernd Leno (Bayer Leverkusen), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (FC Barcelona), Kevin Trapp (Paris Saint-Germain)

Defenders: Shkodran Mustafi (Valencia CF), Jonas Hector (Cologne), Sebastian Rudy (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), Emre Can (Liverpool FC), Matthias Ginter (Borussia Dortmund), Antonio Ruediger (AS Roma), Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen)

Midfielders: Sami Khedira (Juventus FC), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Manchester United), Mesut Oezil (Arsenal FC), Andre Schuerrle (VfL Wolfsburg), Lukas Podolski (Galatasaray SK), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund), Thomas Mueller (FC Bayern Munich), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid CF), Christoph Kramer (Bayer Leverkusen), Julian Draxler (VfL Wolfsburg), Karim Bellarabi (Bayer Leverkusen)

Strikers: Max Kruse (VfL Wolfsburg), Mario Goetze (FC Bayern Munich), Mario Gomez (Besiktas JK), Kevin Volland (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim) Endit