FIFA World Cup defending champions, Germany has named six players that started in the final four years ago in their 27‑men provisional squad.

They are Manuel Neuer, Mats Hummels, Toni Kroos, Thomas Mueller, Jerome Boateng and Mesut Ozil.

However, one notable omission is Mario Gotze, who scored the winning goal in the final four years ago in Brazil.

Germany has won the World Cup on four occasions.

Four players will be dropped from the squad before the tournament begins on the 15th of next month.

Germany is in Group F with Mexico, Sweden and South Korea, and plays their first match against Mexico at 3am on the 18th of next month.

Germany provisional 27‑man squad in full.

Goalkeepers: Bernd Leno (Bayer Leverkusen), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Marc‑Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona), Kevin Trapp (Paris St‑Germain)

Defenders: Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich), Matthias Ginter (Borussia Monchengladbach), Jonas Hector (Cologne), Mats Hummels (Bayern Munich), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Marvin Plattenhardt (Hertha Berlin), Antonio Rudiger (Chelsea), Niklas Sule (Bayern Munich), Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen)

Midfielders: Julian Brandt (Bayer Leverkusen), Julian Draxler (Paris St‑Germain), Leon Goretska (Schalke), Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City), Sami Khedira (Juventus), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Mesut Ozil (Arsenal), Sebastian Rudy (Bayern Munich), Leroy Sane (Manchester City)

Strikers: Mario Gomez (Stuttgart), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Nils Petersen (SC Freiburg), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund), Timo Werner (RB Leipzig)

Source:BBCSports

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