With the World Cup just around the corner, all 32 teams have been putting together their lists for who will be among the lucky few to represent their nation this summer.
Hosts Brazil were the first to name their 23, with notable exclusions including Ronaldinho and Milan duo Kaka and Robinho. South Korea have quickly followed suit and announced their selections last month with Leverkusen star Son Heung-min securing his spot on the plane.
Germany joined that list a bit later--with Joachim Low naming a provisional 30 man squad which now has been reduced to 23. Some of the names--Premier League stars Mesut Ozil, Andre Schurrle, and Lukas Podolski shouldn't raise any eyebrows.
Despite his struggles with the Gunners this season, Ozil has secured his place in die Mannschaft
Neither will a whole slew of Bayern Munich and Dortmund players, including Marco Reus (forced out with an ankle injury on June 7), Thomas Muller, Mats Hummels, Manuel Neuer, and of course, captain Philipp Lahm.
However, it gets interesting regarding two of the team's core players. Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira has earned a spot, despite being out with an injury since late last year, yet Fiorentina attacker Mario Gomez, who also has missed large parts of his season due to injuries was left off the list.
Veteran striker Miroslav Klose will be appearing in his fourth World Cup and has the opportunity to become not just Germany's all time top scorer, but can also match or even surpass Ronaldo's record of 15 tournament goals.
Germany's supporters will definitely be hoping to see Klose's trademark celebratory flip in Brazil!
Coach Joachim Low finally selected the 23 heading to Brazil out of his 30 man provisional squad. The names who didn't make the cut are in bold and italics.
Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer, Roman Weidenfeller, Ron-Robert Zieler
Defenders: Jerome Boateng, Erik Durm, Kevin Grosskreutz, Benedikt Howedes, Mats Hummels, Marcell Jansen, Philipp Lahm, Per Mertesacker, Marcel Schmelzer, Shkodran Mustafi
Midfielders: Lars Bender, Julian Draxler, Mario Gotze, Sami Khedira, Toni Kroos, Max Meyer, Thomas Muller, Mesut Ozil, Marco Reus (replaced with Shkodran Mustafi), Bastian Schweinsteiger, Matthias Ginter, Leon Goretzka, Christoph Kramer, Andre Schurrle, Lukas Podolski
Forwards: Miroslav Klose, Kevin Volland
