Bayern pair Boateng and Hummels not good enough for Germany, says Low

Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels have not been playing well enough to warrant Germany call-ups, according to national team manager Joachim Low.

Both Boateng and Hummels have struggled for Bayern Munich thus far this season, with the former making 10 appearances in the Bundesliga and the latter managing just seven. The club are nine points behind leaders Borussia Dortmund.

Club manager Niko Kovac has repeatedly placed both players on the bench, though never in the same game, and Low has explained that they do not currently warrant a call-up to the national team.

In their last outing, only Hummels played for Germany, as they drew 2-2 with Netherlands, with Boateng omitted from the squad.

"It is still the case that they can play for Germany when they are in shape," Low told Aktuelle Sportstudio.

"In the last games they did not have that." 

Low also stopped short of giving Boateng any hope of a recall, insisting that he is unable to predict the future.

"You'll see, I don't know what's going on in three or four months," he added.

"In the end it's about performance, I plan with all those players who are good."

Low and Hummels have clashed in the past, with the Bayern centre-back publicly denouncing his manager's tactics during the 2018 World Cup.

Following their 1-0 loss to Mexico, their first defeat of a truly woeful campaign, Hummels claimed he and Boateng were left too exposed.

He said: "If seven or eight players play offensively, then it's clear that the offensive force is greater than the defensive stability. That's what I often say internally.

"Our stability is not good, you have to say - often only Jerome [Boateng] and I were at the back, so they mercilessly attacked us."

Germany went on to beat Sweden 2-1, before a stunning 2-0 defeat at the hands of South Korea.