FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Bayern Munich teenager Lennart Karl earned a first Germany call-up on Thursday ahead of the World Cup for his eye-catching Champions League goals. Real Madrid defender Antonio Rüdiger was recalled.
The summons came a day after 18-year-old Karl set up one goal and scored another for Bayern against Atalanta. That took Karl to four goals and two assists from his first seven Champions League games. He became Bayern’s youngest goal-scorer in the competition on his first start in October.
Also in line for a potential international debut was Karl’s Bayern teammate Jonas Urbig, who has been in goal while Manuel Neuer struggles with calf injuries. Urbig recovered from a concussion to play the second leg of Bayern’s 10-2 aggregate win over Atalanta on Wednesday and avert an injury crisis.
Rüdiger is back in Julian Nagelsmann’s squad for the first time since September after a hamstring injury forced him to miss much of the first half of the season, including Germany’s last four games in World Cup qualifying.
Stuttgart striker Deniz Undav returns after scoring in each of his last five Bundesliga games. With 16 goals, Undav is the German league’s second highest scorer behind Bayern’s Harry Kane.
Germany plays friendlies against Switzerland away on March 27 and Ghana in Stuttgart three days later.
Four-time men’s champion Germany is in a World Cup group with Curacao, Ivory Coast and Ecuador.
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