Raum pulls out of Germany squad as Leno declines Nagelsmann request

The German Football Association have announced that due to an ankle injury, RB Leipzig left-back David Raum has withdrawn from the national team. 

Raum played 69 minutes for Leipzig at the weekend in their 1-0 win against Heidenheim before being substituted for Lutsharel Geertruida. 

It is worth noting that Raum has previously shown support for the increased amount of games this season. 

The 26-year-old will be replaced by Fiorentina’s Robin Gosens. The 30-year-old returns to the national team for the first time since October 2023 and will battle it out with Maximilian Mittelstädt for the starting left-back position. 

Raum is the fourth player to now leave the Germany squad ahead of the October international break. The likes of Jamal Musiala, Kai Havertz, and Robin Koch have all withdrawn and have been replaced by Jamie Leweling, Jonathan Burkardt and Kevin Schade respectively. 

The positive about the regulars of the squad withdrawing is that it offers other players the opportunity to show what they can bring to the squad ahead of the beginning of the 2026 World Cup cycle. 

Another Notable absentee is Marc-André ter Stegen. The Barcelona skipper suffered an injury. 

Now, the latest developments revealed Julian Nagelsmann wanted to name Bernd Leno in his latest Germany squad, but the Fulham goalkeeper respectfully rejected the national coach’s request.

The Fulham showstopper however gave reasons to his decision as he revealed he was told he will not take part in the forthcoming friendlies, hence his decision to stay put in London.

Instead, RB Salzburg’s Janis Blaswich has been called up to the national team, alongside Oliver Baumann (Hoffenheim) and Alexander Nübel (Stuttgart) for Germany’s upcoming games against Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Netherlands.

Leno was in the Germany squad in March for their games against France and the Netherlands but failed to get a place in Nagelsmann’s Euro 2024 squad. The Fulham keeper’s last cap was in September 2021.