by Mario Götze has been part of Germany’s initial 55-man squad for the World Cup in Qatar. but flick … [+]
Mario Götze could return to the German team for the 2022 Qatar World Cup. On Monday, Germany sports image reported that the 2014 World Cup golden goal scorer entered the list of 55 shortlisted players that head coach Hansi Flick had to submit to FIFA before the final nomination on November 13.
Flick has long toyed with the idea of bringing Götze back to the national team. The 57-year-old national team coach has long been a fan of the playmaker and even wanted to bring Götze back to Bayern in 2020.
“I would have liked to bring him to Bayern Munich,” Flick told the podcast. Mehr als ein Spiel in August. “He’s just a player with huge strengths in the final third, so he would have been a good addition.” Götze headed to the Netherlands and rebuilt his career at PSV Eindhoven under manager Roger Schmidt.
After scoring 18 goals and 18 assists in 77 games for PSV in all competitions, Götze returned to the Bundesliga, joining Europa League champions Frankfurt in a deal worth around $4 million. The addition of Götze to Frankfurt was considered a bargain deal with great upside potential at the time. And although Götze has only scored two goals and two assists in 17 games for Frankfurt this season, the feeling is that his transfer has been a huge success.
The 30-year-old looks healthier, faster, more creative and quicker than he did in his last season at Borussia Dortmund. That has also allowed Götze to be more creative on the pitch. Looking at Frankfurt, Götze allows the Eagles to zip through the middle third, a key component of head coach Oliver Glasner’s game.
Götze (left) in talks with Frankfurt head coach Oliver Glasner (right). The 30-year-old has had a … [+]
In fact, thanks to Götze, the Eagles have not missed a beat since Filip Kostic left for Juventus and are fourth in the Bundesliga standings. Along with Sadio Mané (Bayern) and Iago (Augsburg), Götze is second with three seconds assist in the Bundesliga behind Joshua Kimmich (Bayern).
According to wyscout, Götze ranks first among Frankfurt players and eighth in the Bundesliga with 1.34 intelligent passes per 90 minutes; among the players available to play for Germany, only Kimmich and Leroy Sané were ahead of Götze in this category. He also ranks second among Frankfurt players behind Randal Kolo Muani (1.48) with 1.44 completions deep per 90 minutes.
the statistics on FBREF, meanwhile, highlights a few other key aspects that make Götze interesting to Flick. One number, in particular, stands out. Germany have struggled to create goalscoring moments, and Götze ranks in the top 88th percentile with 0.66 goal creation actions among all players in Europe’s top 5 leagues.
These underlined numbers, in particular, highlight why Götze could make Germany’s squad for Qatar. Flick thought about nominating Götze for UEFA
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Götze has certainly pulled it off and, with 30 days to go until the World Cup, he has a serious chance to return to the Nationalmannschaft. It would be an incredible comeback; Götze has not played for Germany since a 2-2 draw against France on November 14, 2017. Either way, if Götze gets the call, he would certainly be well deserved.
Manuel Veth is the presenter of the Bundesliga Gegenpressing Podcast and the US Area Manager at Transfermarkt. It has also been featured in The Guardian, Newsweek, Howler, Pro Soccer USA, and various other outlets. Follow him on Twitter: @ManuelVeth
