Mario Gotze is shock Germany call-up for World Cup as Marco Reus misses out

The 2014 hero in Brazil has not played for country since 2017, while injury concerns means Dortmund captain failed to make cut

Mario Gotze, left, celebrates after scoring Germany's winner against Argentina in the 2014 World Cup final. Reuters

Germany manager Hansi Flick has handed Mario Gotze a shock World Cup call-up but defender Marco Reus failed to make the cut.

Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder Gotze, who scored the winner when Germany defeated Argentina to win the 2014 final in Brazil, has not played for his country since 2017.

Flick also selected an uncapped attacking duo in Werder Bremen's Niklas Fullkrug, 29, and 17-year-old Youssoufa Moukoko of Borussia Dortmund.

“Mario is totally happy and so are we to have him. We all know he is an exceptional player. He has been performing at a very high level in the last matches,” Flick said on Thursday.

Bayern Munich provided a strong midfield core with Thomas Muller, teenager Jamal Musiala, Leroy Sane, Serge Gnabry, Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich.

Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer will lead the team and remains first choice for the fourth consecutive World Cup after overcoming recent shoulder issues.

Dortmund captain Reus and defender Mats Hummels, both 33, missed out with the former failing to recover from injury.

HOW GERMANY QUALIFIED FOR WORLD CUP 2022: (Group J) March 25, 2021. Germany 3 (Goretzka 3', Havertz 7', Gundogan 56') Iceland 0: A comfortable start to the campaign for Joachim Low's men with Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan continuing his hot streak in front of goal with his 15th goal in 24 games for club and country. Low said: "It wasn’t our most incredible performance, but it was very important to make a positive start to the new year and that’s what we’ve done tonight." Getty

March 28, 2021. Romania 0 Germany 1 (Gnabry 17'): Serge Gnabry's first-half strike made it two wins on the spin for Germany with a hard-fought victory in Bucharest. Germany captain Manuel Neuer said: "We should have scored the second goal, so we would not have been in danger of losing two points. We are lacking coolness, cleverness, maybe a bit of will inside the box. But their goalkeeper also had a few good stops, so kudos to him." Getty

March 31, 2021. Germany 1 (Gundogan pen 63') North Macedonia 2 (Pandev 45'+2', Elmas 85'): Germany’s 35-match unbeaten run in World Cup qualifying ended with a shock home defeat. Their last loss had been a 5-1 home thrashing by England in September 2001. "This is bitterly disappointing," Low said. "We were not fresh enough, we made mistakes. When we played quickly we were dangerous but we did not find the tools to be really threatening." AP

September 2, 2021. Liechtenstein 0 Germany 2 (Werner 41', Sane 77'): New manager Hansi Flick enjoyed a winning start to his reign against the minnows in Switzerland. Germany had 30 attempts at goal and 85 per cent of the possession. Flick said: "It took us too long to get our first goal, but it's a process. I won't let this first game ruffle my feathers, there's a long road ahead and we will make our way down it." EPA

September 5, 2021. Germany 6 (Gnabry 6'&15', Reus 35', Werner 44', Hofmann 52', Adeyemi 90'+1') Armenia 0: An early double from Serge Gnabry put Germany on the road to an impressive rout of the Armenians in Stuttgart that could easily have been even more. Midfielder Leon Goretzka said: "The atmosphere was extraordinary. I felt lots of joy in the stands and we wanted to display the same kind of joy on the pitch. I think it worked out." AFP

September 8, 2021. Iceland 0 Germany 4 (Gnabry 4', Rudiger 24', Sane 56'), Werner 88'): Flick's team sit top of the group four points clear of Armenia thanks to goals from Chelsea pair Antonio Rudiger and Timo Werner, plus Bayern Munich duo Serge Gnabry and Leroy Sane. Flick said: "We only had a few training sessions. Our goal was to win the three games, and we achieved that. We have taken a step forward. We're not at 100 per cent yet, but the team is on the right track." Getty

October 8, 2021. Germany 2 (Gnabry 52', Muller 81') Romania 1 (Hagi 9'): Germany fought back from a goal down as Thomas Muller scored a first competitive goal for his country since March 2017, having been exiled for two years under previous manager Joachim Low. Flick said: "Conceding goals always annoys me. We were about to get a penalty and then we suffered. It wasn't easy for us to put up with it. In the end, we deserved to win against a team that defended very deep." EPA

October 11, 2021. North Macedonia 0 Germany 4 (Havertz 50', Werner 70', 73', Musiala, 83'): A memorable night for Germany. Revenge for their shock defeat earlier in the campaign and, most importantly, qualification for Qatar secured in style. Flick said: "From the result it was perfect. We got what we wanted, qualified as quickly as possible and we now have five wins in a row. Again the attitude was right. Compliments to the team." EPA

November 11, 2021. Germany 9 (Gundogan pen 11', Kaufmann og 20', Sane 22', 49', Reus 23', Muller 76', 86', Baku 80', Goppel og 89') Liechtenstein 0: Hansi Flick became the first Germany coach to win his first six games in charge as his Covid-hit team thrashed Liechtenstein, who had a man sent off inside 10 minutes. Forward Thomas Muller said: "We have to put things into perspective a little. We didn't have a really strong opponent in our group." AFP

November 14, 2021. Armenia 1 (Mkhitaryan pen 59') Germany 4 (Havertz 15', Gundogan pen 45'+4', 50', Hofmann 64'): Hansi Flick extended his winning streak to seven matches in a row as Germany finished top of the group with 27 points out of a possible 30. Flick said: "It wasn't all brilliant, but the way we try to play football is great. You can see that the team always wants to attack and create chances. We know what we need to improve on; we've got time for that." AFP

Reus had also missed the 2014 World Cup after suffering an injury on the eve of their departure for Brazil. Southampton defender Armel Bella-Kotchap, 20, was named ahead of Hummels.

“He tried everything to catch this train,” Flick said of Reus' troublesome ankle problem. “It just hurts us because we could have made good use of his quality.

“I've often said how much I appreciate him as a footballer … he is good for every team. We will miss him.”

Inter Milan wingback Robin Gosens also failed to make the squad while RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner was ruled out in early November due to injury.

Four-time winners Germany play their first match on November 23 against Japan, before taking on Spain and then Costa Rica.