How Joachim Low left Manchester City star Leroy Sane out of Germany’s World Cup squad continues to be a question on everyone’s minds. But that’s just how the World Cup is, there will always be someone left out of the squad and it will come across as some kind of blasphemy. That said, Sane’s snub was an unexpected one and it caught everyone by surprise.
Bayer Leverkusen attacker Julian Brandt has been selected ahead of the City winger. Sane is undoubtedly on the back of his most successful campaign to date and Low will have some explaining to do as to why he left him out of the final squad.
The German international claimed the Premier League title with Manchester City this year. He was also the recipient of the PFA Young Player Of The Year award, having played a major role in City’s march to the summit of the Premier League.
Given his age, the player must be devastated by the news, wondering as to what more he could have done. Here, let’s take a look at his performance across the season and assess what the German could possibly be missing out on.
Leroy Sane didn’t take the Premier League by storm in his first year at the club but was an essential squad member for Pep Guardiola this time around. City scored a whopping 106 goals in the league at a rate of 2.79 goals per match. Sane was involved in 33 of those goals, scoring 15 and assisting 18. He was a real menace at left-wing, constantly tormenting defenders with his powerful and direct raids.
Interestingly, Julian Brandt was only able to muster 12 goals and 3 assists across 30 appearances. Sane also averaged 1.8 shots, 1.8 key passes and 2.7 dribbles per game as compared to Brandt’s 1.3 shots, 1.7 key passes and 1.3 dribbles respectively.
Stats don’t lie and it is evident that Sane trumps Brandt in every aspect. And yet, Low chose to pick the latter over the City sensation. There has to be some kind of justification behind that.
Over the course of the years, Sane has failed to deliver for Germany on countless occasions while Brandt has always put in strong performances. In fact, Sane’s below-par performance in the surprise 2-1 defeat to Austria compounded his colourless display in the 1-0 loss to Brazil in March.
Brandt, on the other hand, is a versatile player and can play on any side up front. Meanwhile, Sane is an orthodox and old-school winger who prefers to play on the left. Thus, the Leverkusen attacker can bring a whole different dimension to the side.
Simply put, Low can afford to shift Brandt’s role in the squad if required and that could be one of the main reasons behind his decision.
Sane’s international performances have not lived up to his performances for City. He has just been a toothless cog in Germany’s winning machine so far. Hence, the Manchester City attacker should take this in a positive manner by working hard to make it to the squad next time.
