Malick Thiaw and Nick Woltemade set to miss Klopp’s Germany opener
Germany begin Jürgen Klopp’s reign against the Netherlands tomorrow, but neither Malick Thiaw nor Nick Woltemade will be involved. Both have been called up, however Germany’s published squad lists place the Newcastle pair in the group for the second half of this Nations League window.
That gives them a possible first appearance under Klopp next week. Their absence tomorrow is down to an unusual decision the new Germany coach has made.
Klopp’s first international window, done his way
Klopp has selected 44 players across two groups. The first 24 will face the Netherlands in Amsterdam and Greece in Augsburg on Sunday, 27 September. Most will then return to their clubs as another 20 players join for Serbia in Munich on 1 October and Greece away on 4 October. Thiaw and Woltemade are in that later group.
Klopp says four internationals in quick succession create an unusually tight turnaround after club football. He has built the opening group largely around players who already know each other, while using the extended window to work with more of Germany’s options.
“We haven’t picked an A team and a B team. We want to win all four games,” he told the DFB’s official website.
It is a striking way to start his first job in international management. Klopp has acknowledged that the role is new to him, yet he sounds confident making this window fit his own plans from the outset.
A potentially lighter workload for Thiaw
From Newcastle’s perspective, the useful detail is that Thiaw has a maximum of two scheduled international appearances under the announced plan, rather than potentially being involved in all four.
That could mean a lighter match workload, although the squad announcement alone tells us nothing about additional rest days or time on the training ground with Matthias Jaissle.
After Newcastle faced Hull with nine senior players missing, we’d welcome a less demanding international schedule for one of our starting centre-backs. Thiaw still gets his opportunity to impress Klopp, with fewer fixtures to negotiate before club football returns.
