GERMANY MANAGER JOACHIM Low has defended his choice to axe the veteran trio of Jerome Boateng, Thomas Muller and Mats Hummels.

Low named his first squad on Friday since his controversial decision to no longer consider the three World Cup winners for international selection.

Leroy Sane and Marco Reus headlined Germany’s squad for an upcoming friendly with Serbia and a Euro 2020 qualifier against Netherlands.

Though he brought in several fresh faces to his squad, Low was still unsurprisingly asked about the axed Bayern Munich trio at his press conference on Friday. 

The manager bristled at the question, saying of the three players: ”We did not banish them, and they did nothing wrong.

I find it strange when some judge respect and appreciation, even though they were not in the conversation.”

All three players have hit out at Low’s decision, with Muller saying he was “dumbfounded” and Hummels calling it “incomprehensible.”

Even Joshua Kimmich, who is a part of the current Germany squad, has criticised Low’s choice to axe his three club team-mates. 

Boateng, Muller and Hummels were all key members of Germany’s 2014 World Cup-winning squad, and Low spoke of the difficulty of his decision on a sporting and a personal level. 

Emotionally, I found [the decision] incredibly difficult,” Low said. 

“These players are enormously important to me, even as humans.” 

Recently, Germany have endured a difficult period that saw them shockingly crash out at the group stage of the 2018 World Cup before being relegated in the UEFA Nations League. 

Manuel Neuer, Toni Kroos and Matthias Ginter are the only holdovers from the 2014 squad involved in the latest Germany squad.

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