‘I would have liked to stay’ – Kimmich reluctant to leave Germany camp

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

Joshua Kimmich admitted he “would have liked to stay” with Germany for the entirety of the international break but understands why Jurgen Klopp called up two squads.

For Klopp’s first matches in charge, he opted to call up 44 players across two squads to see as many players as possible in the extended break.

He remains winless after his first two matches in charge, though, having conceded a late equaliser to the Netherlands in a 1-1 draw before suffering a shock 1-0 loss to Greece on Sunday.

Six of the players from Klopp’s first squad will stay on with the second: Finn Dahmen, Nico Schlotterbeck, Philipp Treu, Yannik Engelhardt, Bambase Conte and Serge Gnabry.

Florian Wirtz and Jonathan Burkardt were originally called up for the second squad but arrived earlier to replace the injured Kai Havertz and Jamal Musiala.

Despite being the team captain, Kimmich is not one of those remaining in the squad for their last two games against Serbia and Greece.

“I would have liked to stay, but I also understand that the coach wants to get to know some other players,” Kimmich said after the loss to Greece.

“That was the plan from the beginning: that we would rotate the squads.

“Accordingly, I’ll be cheering the team on from home.”

Klopp is the third German head coach to go winless in his first two international matches (D1 L1).

Previously, this had only happened to Sepp Herberger and Helmut Schon; the two later World Cup-winning coaches then won their third international match.

Germany’s next match is at home to Serbia on Thursday before they round off this block of fixtures with a trip to Greece on October 4.

Women’s Football

‘Bring it on’ – Bright sets sights on glory after Chelsea’s Champions League comeback

Premier League News

‘Best is yet to come’ for Fulham, says Silva

UEFA Conference League News

‘Chelsea fans have to trust us’ – Maresca issues rallying cry to Blues’ faithful

UEFA Conference League News

‘Chelsea are back’ if they win Europa Conference League, Maresca insists

Nations League

‘Every Portugal player’ wants to see Ronaldo win World Cup – Dalot

Premier League News

‘Every point is expensive’ in the Premier League, says Iraola

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By using our website you agree to our use of cookies in accordance with our Privacy Policy.