BERLIN: Borussia Dortmund’s 17-year-old forward Youssoufa Moukoko has reportedly been included in Germany’s preliminary squad for the World Cup.
Union Berlin midfielder Rani Khedira, Borussia Mönchengladbach defender Luca Netz and Werder Bremen forward Niclas Füllkrug — who is joint top scorer in the Bundesliga with eight goals — all made coach Hansi Flick’s preliminary list, German tabloid Bild said Tuesday.
National team coaches had to submit their selection of up to 55 players before a deadline of Oct. 21 to ensure their eligibility for the tournament, which starts Nov. 20. Any players who don’t make the preliminary selections will not feature in Qatar.
Moukoko has scored four goals and set up three more in 10 Bundesliga appearances so far for Dortmund this season. Khedira, the younger brother of 2014 World Cup winner Sami Khedira, has started every Bundesliga game for Union and helped the modest club surprisingly lead the table. The 19-year-old Netz is seen as a good prospect for the future.
There have been calls for Flick to include Füllkrug in the final squad as the Bremen striker’s strong physical presence creates opportunities for teammates. The 29-year-old Füllkrug has eight goals and three assists in the Bundesliga so far.
Bild only reported 44 names. It wasn’t clear if Flick had included more. The Germany coach is due to announce his 26-player final squad on Nov. 10 and didn’t want his initial selection published.
Germany have their last World Cup warmup game against Oman on Nov. 16. The four-time champion have been drawn in Group E and play Japan on Nov. 23, Spain on Nov. 27, and Costa Rica on Dec. 1.
Moukoko, 17, in Germany’s preliminary WCup squad
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Moukoko, 17, in Germany’s preliminary WCup squad
- Moukoko has scored four goals and set up three more in 10 Bundesliga appearances
- 19-year-old Luca Netz is seen as a good prospect for the future
Alonso fears more pain in China with struggling Aston Martin
- Fernando Alonso said Thursday he expects another difficult weekend wrestling with his new Aston Martin at the Chinese Grand Prix after failing to finish the season-opener in Australia
SHANGHAI: Fernando Alonso said Thursday he expects another difficult weekend wrestling with his new Aston Martin at the Chinese Grand Prix after failing to finish the season-opener in Australia.
Silverstone-based Aston Martin endured a horror start after serious issues with their Honda power unit and a lack of spare parts.
Two-time world champion Alonso and teammate Lance Stroll had to endure extreme vibration in the chassis caused by the power unit, which was feared could cause the drivers permanent nerve damage.
“The situation unfortunately didn’t change within four or five days since Melbourne, so it will be a difficult weekend,” Alonso told reporters at the Shanghai International Circuit.
“We’ll limit the laps in one or two sessions as we are short on parts. We need laps, to find the window on the chassis side.
“I’ll be happy if we leave China with a more or less normal practice, more or less normal qualifying.”
The Spaniard could not put a timeframe on when improvements might come.
“What can I do within the team? Work harder, help Honda as much as I can,” said Alonso.
“We can allocate resources to help Honda with the power unit. We are one team, it is a bumpy start that I hope won’t last too long.
“We are pushing, we have very talented people in the team, so I hope within a couple of grands prix, we can have a normal weekend.
“To be competitive will take more time. Once we fix the reliability, we will be behind on power and things.”
The 44-year-old veteran has been in Formula One for more than two decades and has driven vastly different iterations of cars from the old V10 petrol engines through to the current complex hybrid configuration.
Despite the issues he said was embracing the challenge of the new cars enthusiastically in what could be his final season on the grid.
His Aston Martin contract expires at the end of 2026.
“Do we enjoy driving these cars? Yes, because we love racing,” Alonso said.
“I do four or five 24-hour races because I love racing and I love driving. So if you jump into an F1 car, you enjoy going fast.
“But it is a challenge, a different challenge.
“I was super lucky to race in (the last) era and I feel lucky to race in both.”
