German national team head coach Hansi Flick feels that Inter wingback Robin Gosens understands why he has been left out of the squad for the upcoming World Cup.
Speaking in a press conference unveiling the squad for the World Cup, as reported by FCInterNews, the coach explained that the decision ultimately came down to playing time for the 28-year-old.
Gosens had been a regular starter during the Euros last summer, but for the World Cup in Qatar he will not be part of the squad.
The 29-year-old has struggled for playing time since the end of 2021, when he recovered from an injury sustained while at Atalanta, and then after a January move to Inter found himself behind Ivan Perisic in the pecking order even after recovering.
If Gosens had expected that this season he would be able to take over the left flank from Perisic following the latter’s move to Tottenham Hotspur, it has been quite the opposite.
Even though the 28-year-old has been fit through the season, it has instead been Federico Dimarco who’s really taken up Perisic’s mantle on the left, whilst Gosens has been left out of Germany’s squad in favour of RB Leipzig’s David Raum and Freiburg’s Christian Gunter.
“Robin Gosens has made very few appearances over the last year,” Flick said of the decision, “I think he himself can understand very well why we made this decision.”
He continued that “It has nothing to do with his qualities, but just to do with whether he can keep up with the pace of the matches.”
Flick then added that “Both Raum and Gunter are in good form for their clubs.”