5 players who missed out a place in Germany's provisional World Cup squad

Germany have today announced their 27-man provisional squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The reigning champions begin their defence of the world title on June 17 against Mexico. According to the rules, Germany will have to drop four names from this list to submit a final 23 man squad for the World Cup.

Manuel Neuer has been included in the squad and will be given every opportunity to prove his fitness in Russia. With Germany having such a plethora of talent to choose their squad from, there is bound to have some high profile casualties.

In this piece, we will take a look at five such quality players that have missed a chance to get on that plane to Russia:

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#5 Serge Gnabry (Hoffenheim)

Serge Gnabry has been excluded

On loan at Hoffenheim from Bayern Munich, Serge Gnabry was one of the key members of the Julian Nagelsmann side. Gnabry played 21 times in the Bundesliga for Hoffenheim who finished third in the table.

He finished the season with 10 goals and 5 assists and is now expected to be included in the Bayern Munich squad next season. There had been talks over Gnabry impressing Germany boss Joachim Low over the course of the season.

It is this reason why his exclusion has come as a sort of a surprise. Though not at the consistent level of starting for Germany, Serge Gnabry could have been a useful tool for Die Mannschaft from the bench with his sudden burst of pace and his ability to get past his man.

#4 Sven Ulreich (Bayern Munich)

Ulreich deserved a place in the squad ahead of Kevin Trapp

Though the general public will remember Sven Ulreich for his glaring mistake against Real Madrid in the Champions League semifinal, the reality is that the Bayern Munich goalkeeper has fared brilliantly in the absence of Manuel Neuer throughout this season.

Taking Neuer's place in the team since September, Ulreich has been an integral member under Jupp Heynckes and made crucial saves over the course of the season. In Bundesliga, Ulreich kept 12 clean sheets in 26 matches and conceded just 20 goals.

After a successful campaign for the Bavarians, Ulreich frankly deserved a place in this provisional squad ahead of PSG's Kevin Trapp. The PSG goalkeeper started just 3 league games this season and has not been a first choice keeper for the French side.

#3 Emre Can (Liverpool)

Emre Can

will

miss the World Cup through injury

Emre Can's exclusion might be a forced one. The box to box midfielder has been missing action for Liverpool since March with a back problem. He last played for Liverpool in a 5-0 win over Watford two months ago.

Can could have been a useful squad member for Germany who was in almost every national squad for the World Cup qualifiers and for the friendlies. He had the trust of Joachim Low who used him in numerous crucial qualifiers.

With Ilkay Gundogan struggling with form and fitness and Sami Khedira not scaling his usual heights this season, a fit Emre Can could have made the difference for the champions in Russia.

#2 Sandro Wagner (Bayern Munich)

Sandro Wagner is a surprise exclusion

One of the most notable exclusions from Germany's provisional World Cup squad is of Bayern Munich striker Sandro Wagner. The towering striker has been in good form this season which ultimately got him a move to Munich from Hoffenheim.

He has been a brilliant deputy for Robert Lewandowski and has effectively shared the workload with him. Germany are expected to start with Timo Werner and Thomas Müller up front with many projecting Sandro Wagner as Germany's Plan B.

But the German management has gone ahead and selected Nils Petersen of Freiburg ahead of Sandro Wagner. Peterson was Bundesliga's second highest goalscorer with 13 goals and is a surprise inclusion in the squad.

#1 Mario Götze (Borussia Dortmund)

Götze will not be seen in the 2018 World Cup

The biggest news from Germany's provisional World Cup squad was the absence of a certain Mario Götze. The man who scored the winning goal for Germany in the 2014 World Cup final against Argentina will not be seen in the upcoming edition.

Götze has battled with injuries since his move to Borussia Dortmund in 2016. A metabolic illness saw him feature for Dortmund just 11 times in the 16/17 season. But this season, Götze has featured 20 times for his club and has been involved in five goals (2 goals and 3 assists).

The attacking midfielder has performed in patches and it may be his indifferent form and fitness that led Joachim Low to take this big decision. But Götze would feel hard done by as his teammate Marco Reus has booked his place in the team despite making just 7 appearances in the league this season.

Other notable exclusions -

Max Meyer (Schalke 04)

Shkodran Mustafi (Arsenal)

Andre Schurrle (Borussia Dortmund)