Leroy Sané has not had an easy road back to the German men’s national team.
Excluded in September and October, the former Bayern Munich winger earned his first call-up this month since moving to Galatasaray — and provided the opening assist in Germany’s 2-0 World Cup Qualifying win over Luxembourg on Friday.
Still, the 29-year-old knows his spot on the squad, much less the XI, is far from assured.
“I’m happy to be back with the team,” Sané reflected afterward, as captured by @iMiaSanMia. “It’s a lot of fun to be on the pitch with these guys. Representing my country is always an honor. I’m happy to get an assist today and repay the coach’s trust a bit. We know each other well, we have a good relationship and a good exchange. Being at the World Cup is my big goal. We’ll see what happens.”
Sané has fared well enough in the Süper Lig, with three goals and assists apiece across all competitions for the table leaders. But he’s jumped ship from what is now looking like the best team in the world in Bavaria to end up outside of Europe’s top five leagues — and knows that will always raise eyebrows about his place in the national team.
“That’s normal. It’s part of football. I can’t complain. I just have to do my thing and perform on the pitch,” Sané added.
On this occasion, he certainly had his say. A faltering German attack could not get on the scoreboard for nearly 50 minutes against Luxembourg before Sané took down a long pass, drove forward, and found striker Nick Woltemade for a tap-in right in front of goal. It was the touch of class Germany needed. And for the moment, at least, Sané showed how he can still be Germany’s most dangerous winger.
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
