Klopp backs 33-year-old Füllkrug for Nations League appearance despite age criticism in Germany

In the training camp of the German national team, coach Jürgen Klopp announced that Niclas Füllkrug, 33, will be selected for the upcoming Nations League matches against Serbia and the Netherlands despite his age, as Sky reported. The decision follows his outstanding scoring rate in the Bundesliga, where he is currently the top scorer with twelve goals in ten games.

Squad decision and background

In the league he scores goals almost on an assembly line. His age of 33 has so far been seen as an obstacle to a return to the national team. Klopp has now made it clear that he wants to include Füllkrug in the squad.

The information comes from both Sky and the newspaper. Klopp plans to nominate Füllkrug for the matches against Serbia and the Netherlands. The DFB will announce the squad for the final Nations League games of the year on Thursday at 11 a.m.

Füllkrug scored twelve goals in ten league matches for Werder Bremen, which justified his return. However, his age of 33 runs counter to Klopp's plan to shape a future squad. Klopp remarked: “Niclas Füllkrug is 33. That is not my fault.”

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Nations League situation and options

In his first XXL squad test, a striker's goal was missing in all four games. The need in the attacking centre is therefore clearly present. Internationally, Füllkrug has scored 14 goals in 24 caps and should therefore fit into the compact 23-man squad.

Paris Brunner, 20, will not be nominated initially, according to Sky, even though he has scored eight goals in eleven appearances for AS Monaco. Klopp has indeed thought intensively about nominating Brunner, but decided against it.

In the Nations League group stage, the German eleven currently sit in third place (one win, two draws, one loss). To reach the quarter‑finals, Germany must capture one of the top two spots and therefore must secure points against Serbia on September 13 and against the Netherlands on September 16.