Mainz 05 coach Urs Fischer has offered an unexpected take on Nadiem Amiri's omission from the Germany squad.
Ahead of Saturday's match against Bayern Munich, Fischer said he hopes the midfielder's absence gives him a point to prove. "I hope Nadiem was disappointed. Now he has to show through his performances: all the more reason! Attitude is the most important thing," he said.
Amiri, like the rest of the Mainz team, is some way short of his best form. The Rheinhessen have lost three in a row, including a bitter DFB Cup exit to second-division VfL Bochum. Even so, Fischer's side sit safely in mid-table in the Bundesliga, 10th with ten points from eight games, ahead of their meeting with the German record champions.
Nadiem Amiri travelled to the World Cup after 21 goal contributions
After an outstanding 2025/26 season of 17 goals and four assists earned him a place in former Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann's World Cup squad, Amiri has offered considerably less in attack this season, particularly in the Bundesliga. He has managed just one assist in eight appearances. Knee problems kept him out of the cup defeat in Bochum, though he had contributed to four goals as captain in his side's 9-0 first-round win over lower-division VfB Krieschow.
Nagelsmann's successor Jürgen Klopp included Amiri in the squad for his first training camp. The midfielder played 80 minutes in the 1-1 draw away to the Netherlands, Klopp's debut as Germany coach. He then spent the entire 90 minutes on the bench in the 1-0 defeat to Greece.
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With Germany due to face Serbia (13 November) and the Netherlands (16 November) to conclude the Nations League group stage during the upcoming international break, Klopp has named a 24-player squad.
Instead of Amiri, Klopp preferred Joshua Kimmich, Tom Bischof, Aleksandar Pavlovic (all Bayern Munich), Felix Nmecha (Borussia Dortmund), Brajan Gruda (RB Leipzig), Florian Wirtz (Liverpool), Lennart Karl (also Bayern Munich) and newcomer Wael Mohya (Borussia Mönchengladbach) in central and attacking midfield.
Getty ImagesGermany squad: Jürgen Klopp's selections at a glance
Position | Player |
Goalkeeper | Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Ajax Amsterdam) |
Goalkeeper | Alexander Nübel (Besiktas Istanbul) |
Goalkeeper | Jonas Urbig (Bayern Munich) |
Defence | Waldemar Anton (Borussia Dortmund) |
Defence | Finn Jeltsch (VfB Stuttgart) |
Defence | Jonathan Tah (Bayern Munich) |
Defence | Maximilian Mittelstädt (VfB Stuttgart) |
Defence | Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund) |
Defence | Philipp Treu (SC Freiburg) |
Defence | Nathaniel Brown (Bayern Munich) |
Defence | Malick Thiaw (Newcastle United) |
Midfield | Brajan Gruda (RB Leipzig) |
Midfield | Lennart Karl (Bayern Munich) |
Midfield | Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich) |
Midfield | Felix Nmecha (Borussia Dortmund) |
Midfield | Tom Bischof (Bayern Munich) |
Midfield | Aleksandar Pavlovic (Bayern Munich) |
Midfield | Said El Mala (1. FC Köln) |
Midfield | Derry Scherhant (SC Freiburg) |
Midfield | Florian Wirtz (Liverpool) |
Midfield | Wael Mohya (Borussia Mönchengladbach) |
Attack | Kai Havertz (Arsenal) |
Attack | Younes Ebnoutalib (Eintracht Frankfurt) |
Attack | Niclas Füllkrug (Werder Bremen) |