Götze Makes Germany’s Initial 55 Player World Cup Squad

Mario Götze could make his return to the German national team ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. On Monday, Germany’s Sport Bild reported that the 2014 World Cup golden goal scorer has made the 55 player short-list that head coach Hansi Flick had to submit to FIFA ahead of the final nomination on Nov. 13.

Flick has long toyed with the idea of bringing Götze back to the national team. The 57-year-old national team coach has been a fan of the playmaker for some time and even wanted to bring Götze back to Bayern in 2020.

“I would have liked to bring him to Bayern Munich,” Flick said to the podcast Mehr als ein Spiel in August. “He’s just a player with enormous strengths in the final third—that’s why he would have been a good addition.” Götze headed to the Netherlands instead and rebuilt his career at PSV Eindhoven under head coach Roger Schmidt instead.

After scoring 18 goals and 18 assists in 77 games for PSV across all competitions, Götze returned to the Bundesliga and joined Europa League winners Frankfurt in a deal worth just about $4 million. Götze joining Frankfurt was considered a bargain deal with potential massive upside at the time. And although Götze has scored just two goals and two assists in 17 games for Frankfurt this season, the feeling is that his transfer has been a big success.

The 30-year-old looks healthier, quicker, more creative, and faster than in his final season at Borussia Dortmund. That has also allowed Götze to be more creative on the pitch. Watching Frankfurt, Götze allows the Eagles to transition quickly through the middle third quickly, a key component of head coach Oliver Glasner’s game.

In fact, thanks to Götze, the Eagles have not missed a beat since Filip Kostic’s departure to Juventus and are fourth in the Bundesliga standings. Together with Sadio Mané (Bayern) and Iago (Augsburg), Götze is second with three-second assists in the Bundesliga behind Joshua Kimmich (Bayern).

According to Wyscout, Götze ranks first among Frankfurt players and eighth in the Bundesliga with 1.34 smart passes per 90 minutes—among players available to play for Germany, only Kimmich and Leroy Sané were ahead of Götze in this category. He also ranks second among Frankfurt players behind Randal Kolo Muani (1.48) with 1.44 deep completions per 90 minutes.

The stats on FBREF, in the meantime, highlight some other key aspects that make Götze interesting for Flick. One number, in particular, stands out. Germany has struggled to create goalscoring moments, and Götze ranks in the top 88 percentile with 0.66 goal-creating actions among all players in Europe’s top 5 leagues.

These underlining numbers, in particular, highlight why Götze could make the Germany squad for Qatar. Flick thought about nominating Götze for the UEFAEFA
Nations League games in September. Ultimately, both parties decided together that a call-up at that stage would be too early, as Götze wanted to establish himself further in Frankfurt.

Götze has certainly managed that and, with 30 days to go to the World Cup, has a serious shot at making a return die Nationalmannschaft. It would be an incredible comeback; Götze has not featured for Germany since a 2-2 draw against France on Nov. 14, 2017. Either way, should Götze get the call, it would certainly be well deserved.

Manuel Veth is the host of the Bundesliga Gegenpressing Podcast and the Area Manager USA at Transfermarkt. He has also been published in the Guardian, Newsweek, Howler, Pro Soccer USA, and several other outlets. Follow him on Twitter: @ManuelVeth