Berlin: World Cup winners Thomas Mueller and Mats Hummels will return to the German national team following an absence of more than two years after coach Joachim Loew confirmed on Wednesday they will be in the squad for Euro 2020.
Bayern Munich attacker Mueller, 31, earned the last of his 100 caps in November 2018 and was dropped from the squad by Loew, along with defenders Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng, a few months later.
But Loew has struggled to refresh the squad which has failed to find top form since the disastrous exit from the 2018 World Cup in the group stage as reigning champions.
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And with Loew himself leaving his post after the Euros, which were delayed a year by the coronavirus pandemic, Mueller's contribution to Bayern winning the 2020 treble and this season's Bundesliga brought him back into contention.
"I'm happy to be part of the national team again," Mueller told the Bayern homepage. "The sporting challenge of representing the German colours again with the boys at a tournament, and the chance to claim the EURO title that comes with it, appeals to me a lot."
The 70-times capped Hummels, 32, has also played his way back into favour with cup winners Borussia Dortmund but Boateng, who will leave Bayern at the season's end, has not been recalled.
"I am really happy and proud to play for Germany again," tweeted Hummels.
Loew said he did not regret his decision to exclude the trio but admitted it had not worked out as hoped.
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"We had to think everything over again," Loew told a news conference. "A successful tournament is above everything.
The pair have "played a very strong season," Loew said and would offer leadership to the team.
Loew, however, remained coy on his goals for the June 11-July 11 event. He said it was worth striving for the final even though "at the moment" Germany do not belong to the top favourites.
IANS
