Löw's Germany struggling post Müller, Hummels, Boateng era

Legendary German coach Ottmar Hitzfeld made reference to Thomas Müller, Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels in his column for German football magazine "kicker" ahead of last Saturday's Klassiker between his two former clubs.

"Their comeback in the national team is much discussed," the former Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich coach wrote. "But Joachim Löw made a well-considered decision that he cannot suddenly revise now. The national coach has a plan that he must see through. A return of the trio would cause even more unrest."

In this Monday's edition of "kicker," it seemed almost as if Löw had taken the words right out of Hitzfeld's mouth. 

"We have decided not to nominate these players, and nothing has changed in this regard," Löw said. "We cannot undo this now."

Indeed, Löw made his decision in 2018 to unceremoniously and permanently delete three of his World Cup winners from his squad. Two years on, Löw is still living with the fallout of that choice, but the fact that it's still a topic of conversation suggests Germany could do a lot worse than recalling them.

In the case of Müller, he's arguably played the best football of his career since 2018 and was integral to Bayern's Champions League triumph. With Germany's defense leaking seven goals in seven games, a recall of Boateng and Hummels would be a welcome boost. Instead, Löw has deployed seven different defenders in the last three games.

It's almost as if Löw doesn't know how to replace Boateng and Hummels but can't bring himself to admit it.

More fresh faces

Nevertheless, the wheels of change continue to turn. Löw has brought in more fresh blood for the upcoming triumvirate of internationals against the Czech Republic, Ukraine and Spain.

Augsburg defender Felix Uduokhai has been rewarded for his solid displays in the Bundesliga with a first callup. Philipp Max, who swapped Augsburg for PSV Eindhoven in September, also gets his first nod as Löw makes his latest attempt to find a solution to his left-back problem.

Robin Gosens of Atalanta was supposed to be the answer, but a knock suggests Max might walk straight into the team for the visit of the Czech Republic to Leipzig on Wednesday. That is unless Borussia Dortmund's out-of-favor left-back Nico Schulz gets another opportunity, despite having started more games for Germany (one) this season than for Dortmund.

Borussia Mönchengladbach duo Florian Neuhaus and Jonas Hofmann deservedly keep their places, as does Nadiem Amiri, a talented attacking midfielder whose game just lacks goals. Dortmund's Mahmoud Dahoud also gets another chance in midfield.

With the European Championship less than a year out and a World Cup in just over two, there are signs that Löw is no closer to knowing his strongest team than he was two years ago.

As his search for a new winning formula continues, it’s hard to understand why the three players he dropped in 2018 remain in exile. Still, in Monday's edition of "kicker" Löw came the closest he has in two years to opening the door for a recall of any one more of the three for next summer's tournament.

"If a completely new situation arises next year as a result of key players not being available, I will evaluate this accordingly and consider alternative scenarios," he said.