Germany taking Moukoko to World Cup, Reus misses out Youssoufa Moukoko

BERLIN. — Germany are taking 17-year-old striker Youssoufa Moukoko to the football World Cup though Borussia Dortmund teammates Marco Reus and Mats Hummels have missed out.

Coach Hansi Flick named his 26-man squad for Qatar yesterday, rewarding Moukoko for scoring six goals and setting up four more in 13 German Bundesliga appearances this season. Moukoko is the youngest player to clock 10 career Bundesliga goals. Last season, he became the youngest player to appear in the league.

Werder Bremen forward Nicklas Füllkrug was another surprise callup, filling a gap left by Timo Werner’s injury. Füllkrug has 10 goals in 13 Bundesliga games this season.

Before Flick named his squad, he referred to the human rights situation in Qatar and recent homophobic comments made by former Qatar player Khalid Salman, a World Cup ambassador.

“It leaves us speechless, stunned,” Flick said of the comments.

Reus is missing out on a major tournament yet again. The Dortmund captain has struggled to recover from an ankle injury in September during the Ruhr derby win over Schalke. Reus made two brief appearances since but complained of increased pain last weekend.

Reus missed Germany’s World Cup win in 2014 with an ankle injury sustained in a warmup game, and a groin injury ruled him out of the 2016 European Championship. He played in Germany’s unsuccessful World Cup defense in 2018 but skipped the next European Championship to recover after his season with Dortmund.

Hummels has played well this season, but he is also susceptible to injury and Flick evidently had doubts about whether the center back could deal with the rigors of a month-long tournament.

Belgium are in Group F with Canada, Morocco and Croatia.

Germany World Cup Squad

Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Marc-André ter Stegen (Barcelona), Kevin Trapp (Eintracht Frankfurt)

Defenders: Thilo Kehrer (West Ham), David Raum (Leipzig), Antonio Rüdiger (Real Madrid), Niklas Süle (Borussia Dortmund), Matthias Ginter (Freiburg), Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund), Lukas Klostermann (Leipzig), Christian Günter (Freiburg), Armell Bella Kotchap (Southampton)

Midfielders: Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Leon Goretzka (Bayern Munich), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Thomas Müller (Bayern Munich), Ilkay Gündogan (Manchester City), Jonas Hofmann (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Mario Götze (Eintracht Frankfurt), Julian Brandt (Borussia Dortmund), Kai Havertz (Chelsea)

Forwards: Serge Gnabry (Bayern Munich), Leroy Sané (Bayern Munich), Karim Adeyemi (Borussia Dortmund), Niclas Füllkrug (Werder Bremen), Youssoufa Moukoko (Borussia Dortmund)

Belgium World Cup Squad

Goalkeepers: Koen Casteels (Wolfsburg), Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), Simon Mignolet (Club Brugge).

Defenders: Toby Alderweireld (Royal Antwerp), Zeno Debast (Anderlecht), Leander Dendoncker (Aston Villa), Wout Faes (Leicester), Arthur Theate (Rennes), Jan Vertonghen (Benfica), Thomas Meunier (Borussia Dortmund), Timothy Castagne (Leicester).

Midfielders: Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Amadou Onana (Everton), Youri Tielemans (Belgium), Hans Vanaken (Club Brugge), Axel Witsel (Borussia Dortmund), Yannick Carrasco (Atletico Madrid), Thorgan Hazard (Borussia Dortmund).

Forwards: Michy Batshuayi (Fenerbahce), Charles De Ketelaere (AC Milan), Jérémy Doku (Rennes), Eden Hazard (Real Madrid), Romelu Lukaku (Inter Milan), Dries Mertens (Galatasaray), Loïs Openda (Lens), Leandro Trossard (Brighton). — AP.

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