Jurgen Klopp has taken his first major step as Germany's new head coach, announcing an unusually large 44-man squad for his opening set of international fixtures. Rather than naming a single squad, the former Liverpool manager has split the group in two, with each half assigned to different matches over a hectic two-week international window.
The first batch of 24 players will be called upon for the meetings with the Netherlands on September 24 and Greece three days later on September 27. The remaining 20 players will then join up for a second phase of fixtures, facing Serbia on October 1 before a rematch with Greece on October 4.
Among those included in the second group is Florian Wirtz, the Liverpool attacking midfielder, who will therefore have extra time to recover following his club's away trip to Bournemouth in the Premier League before reporting for national duty.
Explaining his reasoning behind the unconventional squad selection, Klopp addressed the media during a press conference in Frankfurt. "It's very unusual that you've got four games in two weeks with the national team," he said. "I want to get to know as many players as possible in that time." He was also keen to stress that the split was not about hierarchy within the squad, adding: "It's not an A-team and a B-team, but the two squads have been created in a way that each fits well together."
The timing of Wirtz's inclusion in the later squad will come as a relief to Liverpool, who have watched their record signing struggle to find his rhythm since arriving at Anfield. The 23-year-old has started all four of Liverpool's Premier League matches so far this season and has featured for almost the full ninety minutes in most of the club's fixtures, yet his end product has been limited. He has registered just a single assist and has gone more than 400 minutes without finding the net, a lean spell by his previously prolific standards.
Wirtz's underwhelming start has mirrored a wider dip in form for Liverpool under new manager Andoni Iraola, who has seen his side collect only six points from a possible twelve in the league table. That form leaves them trailing both Manchester City and Arsenal early in the campaign. Still, there have been bright spots amid the inconsistency, most notably a impressive Champions League victory over Atletico Madrid and a comfortable win against Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup, results that suggest the squad retains quality even as domestic form wavers.
Once the international break concludes, Liverpool will be back in Premier League action with fixtures against Manchester City and Brentford, before turning their attention to the Champions League for an away trip to Austria to take on LASK. The hope for Liverpool supporters will be that Wirtz returns from international duty refreshed and ready to rediscover the sharpness that made him one of the club's most anticipated arrivals, with Klopp's careful squad management potentially playing a role in easing his player's transition into a demanding club and country schedule.
Based on reporting from standard-football.