What a surprise! Dietmar Hamann would have picked a different centre-back for the DFB team’s friendlies

"We don’t need to discuss his qualities. The fact that he doesn’t always start for Cologne shouldn’t be held against him," said Hamann, when asked about El Mala. "He’s scored nine goals for Cologne and his form is steadily improving. I can’t think of any reason not to take him."

Bisseck, on the other hand, is someone who could be "thrown up front" should we need a late goal. "He’s been back in the Inter first team since December. He’s incredibly strong in the air and we know how important set-pieces are. I would have loved to see him in the squad," said Hamann.

That said, the 52-year-old generally agrees with national coach Nagelsmann’s decisions: “It’s about having good players and covering every position with two options. We’ve probably had weaker squads in the past. There are plenty of highly talented players in the squad. If you can build team spirit, wonderful things can happen.”

The DFB coach announced his squad yesterday, Thursday, for the upcoming friendlies against Switzerland (27 March) and Ghana (30 March). In central defence, Jonathan Tah (FC Bayern Munich), Nico Schlotterbeck, Waldemar Anton (both BVB), Antonio Rüdiger (Real Madrid) and Malick Thiaw (Newcastle United) were preferred to Bisseck.

On the attacking flanks, Nagelsmann opted for Leroy Sané (Galatasaray Istanbul), Kevin Schade (FC Brentford) and Jamie Leweling (VfB Stuttgart) instead of El Mala.