Muller and Ozil set to miss Brazil friendly

Thomas Muller and Mesut Ozil have not travelled with Germany’s squad for their friendly against Brazil in Berlin on Tuesday.

Both players started and Muller scored an eye-catching equaliser as Joachim Low’s side drew 1-1 with Spain in Dusseldorf on Friday.

Arsenal playmaker Ozil completed the match, while Bayern Munich forward Muller was replaced by Leon Goretzka with nine minutes to go.

Germany announced via their official Twitter account that neither of the key men have travelled ahead of the meeting with the Selecao at the Olympic Stadium. 

Time for take-off! @esmuellert_ and @MesutOzil1088 will not travel with the squad to Berlin. #DieMannschaft #GERBRA pic.twitter.com/KOH9d7SyhM

— Germany (@DFB_Team_EN) March 23, 2018

It remains to be seen if Muller and Ozil have sustained minor fitness problems or if the experienced duo have been granted a rest by head coach Low, who was satisfied with his side’s efforts against Spain.

“I thought it was a great test for both teams,” he said.

“We can learn a lot from tonight [Friday], that’s why we wanted to play against teams like Spain and Brazil. You can only truly gauge yourself as a team when you face the best.

“However, we still want to push on and improve. We can go up another gear and I think both teams haven’t shown their full hand yet.

“It was a very high-quality game and I think the fans can be happy with what they’ve seen.”

Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos said: “Spain were on top for the first 20 minutes and deserved to be ahead. Then, we got a foothold on the ball and, in turn, the game.

“All in all, it was a fair result. It was a good game of football. We’re putting in a solid level of performance.”