World Cup 2018: 5 biggest snubs in national squads

#3 Leroy Sane (Germany)

Sane in action for Germany

Leroy Sane was involved in 33 goals in all competitions this season, with 14 goals and 19 assists, which was more than any other German player in Europe’s top 5 leagues. He was an integral part of the Manchester City squad that won the Premier League this year in record-breaking fashion and won the PFA Young player of the year award; which makes his exclusion all that more shocking.

Sane was expected to edge out Julian Brandt for a place in the squad, however, Joachim Low sprung a surprise by picking Brandt while leaving Sane out. Low said that Sane was yet to arrive in international matches while Brandt had performed better for Germany, and the stats do back up Low’s statement.

Sane has provided 1 assist and no goals in 12 appearances for Germany, and struggled at last year’s Confederations Cup, but that was before his stellar season for Manchester City. Germany has a very strong squad nonetheless, but Sane did provide a different dimension to their play, with his insane speed, dribbling and decision making.

Julian Draxler was also preferred over Sane for his versatility but Sane could make a strong argument that he deserved to be going to Russia ahead of Draxler or Brandt.

Sane would walk into quite a few squads of other countries as their best player, but when you play for the defending world champions, sometimes your best is not enough, and for 22-year-old Sane, the wait to make his first World Cup appearance will continue.