Germany’s record international appearance-maker Lothar Matthäus said he would have kept Joshua Kimmich in the squad for all four of the national team’s opening Nations League matches. In his Sky column, the 65-year-old described Kimmich as captain not only of the first group of 22 players but also of the other players who met in Herzogenaurach on Monday.
Matthäus said keeping Kimmich with the group would have allowed newcomers to get to know their captain. He argued that a captain shares responsibility for the team with the coach and said Kimmich had earned his leadership role over many years.
The 31-year-old Bayern midfielder left the national team after Germany’s 1-0 loss to Greece in Augsburg. Kimmich said he would have liked to stay but understood that the coach wanted to get to know other players.
Klopp selected two squads for Germany’s first four matches in the competition. The first group drew 1-1 with the Netherlands in Amsterdam and then lost to Greece. The second squad is due to play Serbia in Munich at 20:45 on Thursday and meet Greece again in Thessaloniki at 20:45 on Sunday.
Matthäus said the two-squad approach was right overall, even though he would have preferred Kimmich to remain for all four games. His comments focused on the captain’s role and the value of experienced players as the coach assesses the team.