Not so long ago the German national team was praised for its diverse roster, including a strong contingent of players from the likes of Bayer Leverkusen, VfB Stuttgart, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig, However, life is, at least, somewhat back to normal after Julian Nagelsmann selected five Bayern Munich players for Germany’s FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Luxembourg and Slovakia.
The Bayern representatives include Germany captain, Joshua Kimmich, Serge Gnabry, Aleksandar Pavlović, Jonathan Tah and Leon Goretzka — a majority of players who could help form the spine of Nagelsmann’s starting eleven.
Goretzka, for one, believes Bayern’s strong representation could prove to be a positive for the German national team for two key reasons.
”Having a big Bayern block in the national team has always been traditionally important,” declared the Bochum-born midfielder in an interview with RTL (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “It generally helps; we know each other very well. That makes the team cohesion a bit easier. We’ve arrived here with a certain amount of confidence. Things are going very well for us at the club, we’re in a good flow, and we’re trying to carry that momentum into the national team.”
Given the stop-start nature of international football, it is very difficult to keep momentum flowing, a problem that the Bayern players have not been burdened with so far this season. The likes of Kimmich, Gnabry, Pavlović, Tah and Goretzka will be hoping their form will carry over to the national team as well. Although, none of that will help in an incohesive team desperate to find an identity. Bayern’s players could provide the thread of familiarity that Nagelsmann’s side so desperately needs.
It remains to be seen just how many Bayern players even make the starting eleven, but if tradition is anything to go by, they will certainly be called upon to be the difference makers in two important fixtures.
