Leroy Sane missed out on World Cup to Julian Brandt in 'photo finish', says Germany boss Joachim Low

Missing out | Sane was the most notable absentee from Low's squad
AFP/Getty Images
James Benge4 June 2018

Leroy Sane missed out on a place in Germany’s World Cup squad due to a “photo finish” decision to take Julian Brandt in his place, said head coach Joachim Low.

Manchester City winger Sane was the surprise name among a quartet of players cut as Low trimmed his squad to 23 on Fifa’s deadline for confirming final squads for the World Cup.

Bayer Leverkusen forward Brandt beat Sane to one of the attacking spots in Low’s party, though in purely numerical terms the Premier League Young Player of the Year appears to have had the better season, scoring 14 goals and providing 19 assists compared to the 12 goals and seven assists of Brandt.

However Sane particularly struggled in Germany’s 2-1 defeat against Austria on Saturday and has struggled to replicate his club form over 11 appearances for Die Mannschaft.

“That was a very close decision between him and Julian Brandt, which was made in favour of Brandt,” Low said. “Draxler, Reus and Muller are set. Leroy has a huge talent.

“He will be back again from September. He had not played in international matches yet.

“It was a very close decision. If it were a 100 metre race, it would have been a photo finish.”

Goalkeeper Bernd Leno, centre-back Jonathan Tah and striker Nils Petersen were the other names trimmed from Low’s squad. That meant Bayern Munich shot-stopper Manuel Neuer made the squad after making his comeback on Saturday following nine months on the sidelines with a broken foot.

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