Germany have demonstrated the remarkable strength and depth of their squad by omitting Leroy Sane from the 23 for the World Cup. The 22-year-old forward had been tipped as one to watch in Russia after his outstanding season at Manchester City which saw him voted the PFA young player of the year. However he was named on Monday as one of four players cut from Joachim Low’s squad with the Germany coach preferring Bayer Leverkusen’s highly-rated Julian Brandt instead. Given that a player with Sane’s ability would be a first-choice for most nation’s teams, never mind their squads, and certainly would be one of the first names on Gareth Southgate’s team-sheets if he was eligible to play for England, it is a remarkable decision by Low. Even so, and given he won the World Cup in Brazil and this is his sixth tournament, Low has earned the right to make such bold choices and has gone about it rationally. Sane, it seems, simply does not fit into the style of play the coach wants.<doc-sep>The reigning champions have opted against taking a Premier League title winner with them to Russia, but Manuel Neuer is included after injury issues Reigning champions Germany have made the stunning decision to leave Manchester City winger Leroy Sane out of their squad for World Cup 2018. The 22-year-old is coming off the back of an impressive season at club level which saw him collect a Premier League and Carabao Cup double. Sane contributed 14 goals to the City cause during a record-breaking campaign, while also providing 17 assists across England's top-flight and the Champions League. He will, however, play no part for his country in Russia this summer after being cut from Joachim Low’s 27-man preliminary party. With that selection narrowed down to 23 ahead of the defence of their global crown, Germany have opted to favour the likes of Julian Draxler and Sebastian Rudy. Alongside Sane, Bayer Leverkusen duo Bernd Leno and Jonathan also miss out, as does Freiburg striker Nils Petersen. Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil was among those to receive good news, though, while Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger will be another Premier League performer within the ranks. Sane’s team-mate at City, Ilkay Gundogan, is also included, as is reported Manchester United and Real Madrid target Timo Werner of RB Leipzig. Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer gets the nod despite his recent injury struggles, while Borussia Dortmund forward Marco Reus will get the chance to put his previous fitness issues behind him – with the 29-year-old having missed out on the successful World Cup campaign in 2014. Germany open their 2018 campaign against Mexico on June 17, before going on to face Sweden and South Korea in their other Group F fixtures. Germany's 2018 World Cup squad in full Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona), Kevin Trapp (PSG) Article continues below Defenders: Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich), Mats Hummels (Bayern Munich), Niklas Sule (Bayern Munich), Antonio Rudiger (Chelsea), Matthias Ginter (Borussia Monchengladbach), Jonas Hector (Koln), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Marvin Plattenhardt (Hertha Berlin) Midfielders: Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Sami Khedira (Juventus), Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City), Leon Goretzka (Schalke), Sebastian Rudy (Bayern Munich), Mesut Ozil (Arsenal), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Julian Brandt (Bayer Leverkusen), Julian Draxler (PSG), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund) Forwards: Mario Gomez (Stuttgart), Timo Werner (RB Leipzig)<doc-sep>(CNN) There are 736 players going to the World Cup, but it's the absentees that are grabbing all the headlines in the run-up to Russia 2018. Notably Germany's Leroy Sane, who given the season he's had with English Premier League winners Manchester City, must be wondering why he will sweating on a beach rather than on the pitches of Russia during the competition. On Monday, the 22-year-old Sane, who tormented defenders both in the Premier League and the Champions League in Pep Guardiola's free-scoring team last season, was omitted by Germany coach Joachim Loew. "Leroy has a huge amount of talent and he will be back in again because from September we will redouble our work with him," Loew told reporters. "But in his games with the national team he hasn't quite done the business." Read More<doc-sep>
Each of the 32 nations competing at this summer’s World Cup in Russia has named their 23-man squads, with more than a few surprises included along the way. Just 10 days remain until the first ball is kicked at Russia 2018, and the full roster of players who will compete for the World Cup trophy has been unveiled by FIFA after Monday’s squad deadline passed. Read more A total of 736 players will take part in the month-long festival of football across Russia, which begins on June 14 when the hosts play Saudi Arabia. Russia have included Aleksey and Anton Miranchuk in their squad for the tournament – the first set of twins to appear at the finals since 2006. Sergey Ignashevich, who will turn 39 in July, is the elder statesmen of a collection of players largely drawn from the Russian domestic league. Manchester City’s Leroy Sane, the PFA Young Player of the Year for 2018, is the most high-profile omission from a German squad looking to retain the trophy that they won in Brazil four years ago, while Mohamed Salah has made the cut in Egypt’s 23 despite the shoulder injury he suffered at the hands of Sergio Ramos in last month’s Champions League final. Other players who will consider themselves unfortunate not to be on a plane to Russia in the coming days are Alvaro Morata of Spain, Belgium’s Radja Nainggolan, Mario Goetze of Germany, and England’s forgotten goalkeeper Joe Hart. READ MORE: Germany in crisis, Neymar returns: 5 talking points from the latest World Cup warm-up action Anthony Martial, Manchester United’s French forward, has also paid the price for not being a regular starter at Old Trafford last season by being omitted from Didier Deschamps’ 23-man panel.