Leon Goretzka out of Germany’s opener against France

Leon Goretzka has been ruled out of Germany’s opening fixture in the Euros against France. The 26-year-old midfielder has returned to training after a leg injury but will not be fit enough to start the match against the world champions.

There was huge speculation surrounding whether or not the Bayern Munich centre midfielder will be able to start the Euro campaign, but it was reported on Thursday that he will not be able to take part in the match against France on Tuesday.

“It is out of the question that he could play in the first game,” Germany’s team director Oliver Bierhoff said at their European Championship base in Bavaria.

“But he’s a great personality and an important player. I am sure he will play an important role at this tournament.”
Many nations would suffer by the loss of such a quality player but Germany are blessed with a world class midfield. Their central midfield list reads “Joshua Kimmich, Toni Kroos, Leon Goretzka and Ilkay Gundogan”.

All four of these players are very good footballers and are going into the campaign on the back of fruitful club campaigns.

In the absence of Leon Goretzka, it expected that Toni Kroos and Ilkay Gundogan will play in the midfield. Joshua Kimmich might be one of the best midfielders in the world right now but his versatility means that Joachim Loew will prefer deploying him as a right back.

Germany have failed to find a long-time replacement for the legendary Phillip Lahm and as they have a barrage of options in midfield, it only makes sense that Kimmich will play at right back.

Germany fielded Toni Kroos and Ilkay Gundogan in a midfield two against Latvia on Monday which ended in a 7-1 win for Die Mannschaft, which indicates that the manager has freed himself up from the midfield dilemma.

Leon Goretzka, who has scored 12 goals in 32 games for Germany, now has to prove his fitness before the important match against Portugal next weekend, before Germany host Hungary in the last group game.