"He's not performing to the standard required": World champion speaks out against Leroy Sané's World Cup participation

Instead, the 65-year-old would prefer to give younger, hungrier players like Bayern Munich’s Lennart Karl or Cologne’s Said El Mala a chance: “Certainly not as first-team regulars, but for the last 20 minutes. El Mala on the left wing, and Karl can play in several positions anyway. Both are brilliant lads and it would, of course, be a huge experience for them.”

Sane made a somewhat surprising move last summer, joining Galatasaray Istanbul on a free transfer from FC Bayern Munich. The 30-year-old is having a decent, though by no means outstanding, season at the top Turkish club. Across all competitions, he has scored six goals and provided eight assists in 34 competitive matches.

As a result, public doubts have recently been voiced with increasing frequency as to whether Sane should even be considered for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada. Julian Nagelsmann hinted that he intends to take the 72-cap international (16 goals) along regardless of the criticism and suggested he has a good chance of being selected.

"We don’t have many players with his profile who often cut inside from the right wing. We have a great relationship, and Leroy has put in some superb performances. He’s also doing well at Galatasaray," explained the national team manager in his much-quoted interview with *kicker*.

There is still no precise information on when Nagelsmann will announce his final World Cup squad. The most likely time is after the penultimate friendly against Finland on 31 May, before the team heads to the USA on 2 June. The very last friendly before the tournament kicks off will then take place there on 6 June.

According to Littbarski, the DFB team is not among the very biggest favourites at the World Cup, but Germany should not be underestimated. "Whether it’s Wirtz, Musiala or Havertz – there are loads of top players in the squad. It will be important to accept one another, stick together and give it our all. Then I believe we can go far."