Sule gets first call-up as Schweinsteiger prepares for Germany farewell

Hoffenheim defender Niklas Sule has been called up to the Germany squad for the first time for the matches against Finland and Norway.

The 20-year-old has been rewarded for his performances at the Olympic Games, where Germany lost the gold-medal match on penalties to Brazil, along with Julian Brandt and Max Meyer.

Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng, Wolfsburg striker Mario Gomez, Borussia Dortmund star Marco Reus and Roma’s Antonio Rudiger all miss out through injury, while Manchester City duo Leroy Sane and Ilkay Gundogan have not yet recovered full fitness.

Bastian Schweinsteiger, who has been omitted from Manchester United’s first-team plans by Jose Mourinho, will feature in the friendly with Finland on August 31 – his final match before he retires from international football.

“Max Meyer and Julian Brandt were already with us, and we would like to get to know Niklas Sule better,” head coach Joachim Low said. “These three have earned their nominations with their excellent performances. I think they see the nominations as a motivation and incentive to continue to improve.

“We want to bid farewell to Basti and thank him, together with the fans, with one final appearance for the national team.

“He’s done great service to Germany, German football and our team. The game against Finland will also serve as preparation for our qualifier against Norway, though.”

Germany face Norway in their opening World Cup qualifier following the Finland match.

Squad in full:

Goalkeepers: Bernd Leno (Bayer Leverkusen), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona)

Defenders: Emre Can (Liverpool), Jonas Hector (Cologne), Benedikt Howedes (Schalke), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Shkodran Mustafi (Valencia), Niklas Sule (Hoffenheim), Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen)

Midfielders: Karim Bellarabi, Julian Brandt (both Bayer Leverkusen), Sami Khedira (Juventus), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Max Meyer (Schalke), Mesut Ozil (Arsenal), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Manchester United), Julian Weigl (Borussia Dortmund)

Forwards: Julian Draxler (Wolfsburg), Mario Gotze (Borussia Dortmund), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Andre Schurrle (Borussia Dortmund), Kevin Volland (Bayer Leverkusen).