Arsenal defender and Chelsea duo omitted from German squad due to COVID-19 variants

Arsenal defender Leonie Maier and Chelsea pair Ann-Katrin Berger and Melanie Leupolz have been omitted from the German squad for this month’s ‘Three Nations, One Goal’ tournament.

Martina Voss-Tecklenburg’s side will face Belgium and The Netherlands over a four-day period this month in an international friendly tournament between the three nations who are hoping to host the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2027.

German head coach Tecklenburg named her 26-player squad for the tournament earlier today with Barclays FA Women’s Super League trio Maier, Berger and Leupolz all having been omitted. The German Football Association, The DFB, have made the decision not to include English-based players in the interests of health and safety with several COVID-19 variants having threatened the UK in recent weeks. Tecklenburg has avoided selecting players who could arrive at camp via plane or train to limit the potential risk of COVID-19 transmission and spread.

Chelsea keeper Berger made her senior debut for Germany in the nation’s last fixture against the Republic of Ireland in December while she was joined in the side by club teammate Leupolz. Arsenal defender Maier was an unused substitute for that match.

Germany will face Belgium in Aachen on Sunday 21 February before taking on The Netherlands in Venlo three days later.

Unser Kader für den #ThreeNationsOneGoal-Cup 🇩🇪🇧🇪🇳🇱

🆕 Stina Johannes 👋
🔙 Sara Doorsoun 💪

ℹ️ Almuth #Schult soll mehrere Tage mit dem Team trainieren, steht aber nicht im Kader für die beiden Spiele.

➡️ https://t.co/C4rq1YhYZo

WIR #IMTEAM 🇩🇪 #GERBEL #NEDGER pic.twitter.com/lxiZMBl5kq

— DFB-Frauenfußball (@DFB_Frauen) February 8, 2021

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Daniel Pentland

I am the editor and owner of the WSL Full-Time brand which I launched in 2018.

I am an accredited journalist with the FWA, SJA and AIPS. I have reported from various levels of men’s and women’s elite football since 2016.

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