Lothar Matthäus drops Chelsea and Bayern Munich stars as he names his preferred Germany XI to face Spain at the FIFA World Cup

1990 FIFA World Cup winner and Germany legend Lothar Matthaus has named his starting XI for Die Mannschaft's upcoming encounter against Spain.

Hansi Flick's men will face La Roja in their second match at the 2022 FIFA World Cup on Sunday (November 27). They will enter the contest having suffered a shock 2-1 defeat against Japan in their tournament opener.

Several players underwhelmed for Germany on that occasion. This has led Matthaus to make four major changes to his preferred XI for the game against Spain.

Some of those are big calls, with the legendary midfielder dropping Bayern Munich superstar Thomas Muller as well as Chelsea forward Kai Havertz. Here's his starting XI (via @iMiaSanMia on Twitter):

Goalkeeper: Manuel Neuer.

Defenders: Christian Gunter (in for David Raum), Antonio Rudiger, Niklas Sule, Thilo Kehrer (in for Nico Schlotterbeck).

Midfielders: Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka (in for Thomas Muller), Ilkay Gundogan.

Forwards: Jamal Musiala, Serge Gnabry, Nicholas Fullkrug (in for Kai Havertz).

Bayern & Germany

@iMiaSanMia

Lothar Matthäus suggests this XI for the game against Spain on Sunday [@BILD]

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Lothar Matthäus suggests this XI for the game against Spain on Sunday [@BILD] https://t.co/i5f6xA9dM8

Matthaus' line-up retains Flick's preferred 4-2-3-1 formation with a few minor tweaks.

Sule, who played at right-back against Japan, will move to central defense, with Kehrer starting on the right flank. With Muller out of the XI, Gundogan has moved up to become their #10, while Goretzka will sit in holding midfield alongside Kimmich. Lastly, Havertz has been replaced by a proper centre-forward in Fullkrug.

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How did the 4 players dropped by Matthaus fare for Germany in their FIFA World Cup opener?

Lothar Matthaus has undoubtedly called for some major decisions from Germany ahead of their must-win FIFA World Cup match against Spain. However, there were some decent performers among the four players he called to be dropped after the debacle against Japan.

David Raum was one of Die Mannschaft's better players against the Asian side, providing plenty of energy from left-back. Raum laid out three key passes, won three fouls and completed 88% of his passes, while also making three tackles and two interceptions.

Statman Dave

@StatmanDave

David Raum’s first half by numbers vs. Japan:

100% tackles won
89% pass accuracy
47 touches
2/3 ground duels won
2 aerial duels won
1 key pass
1 penalty won

Looking threatening down the left-hand side.

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David Raum’s first half by numbers vs. Japan:

100% tackles won
89% pass accuracy
47 touches
2/3 ground duels won
2 aerial duels won
1 key pass
1 penalty won

Looking threatening down the left-hand side. 💪 https://t.co/YHSuZuDOkV

Thomas Muller, despite not meeting his lofty expectations, still enjoyed a decent outing against Japan. The veteran provided three key passes and won four duels, but also gave the ball away 13 times.

Nico Schlotterbeck was one of Germany's underperformers in their FIFA World Cup opener. He was caught out for Takuma Asano's winner and was troubled by their pace on a few occasions. However, Schlotterbeck completed 105 passes, including two key passes, won six duels and made three tackles as well.

Kai Havertz, however, was extremely ineffective in attack. The forward, who has also struggled at Chelsea this season, attempted zero shots, was caught offside thrice and won just one of his five duels.

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